Who do you trust...

[FilthyBroke]

... for shopping banknotes online?   I've spent 2-3 years searching coins and have a few trusted sites/dealers, but I'm looking at notes for the first time.  So, who do you recommend to not sell problem material and to give me a fair price?


Thanks in advance for any help.

[cpm9ball]

I don't collect paper money, so I wouldn't know of any sellers on eBay. Did you know that there is a big paper money show in Chicago next month?

Chris

[Deagle74]

Hi FilthyBroke!

You didn't write which notes you would like to collect (world notes, us notes, errors...). I assume you will stay at "US territory" - so when I was looking for a radar note from series of my birth year - I found nice one on this site:

http://stores.ebay.com/Niceones123_RADARS-REPEATERS_W0QQ_fsubZ3QQ_sidZ13253124QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322

But I suggest you to ask the same question on the PCGS Currency forum. Lots of great people and the administrator is nothing like Don on coin forum

http://forums.collectors.com/categories.cfm?catid=23

Enjoy,

Rok

[Scottishmoney]

Depends on whether you are buying foreign or USA notes.  I buy mostly foreign, I like Pam West, Kate Gibson, Jane White, Sylvia Reichenberger as dealers in foreign.  For my USA stuff I buy mostly Nationals, and there I buy from Horwedels currency, Denly's of Boston, and Don C. Kelly.  All of these sellers can be found online.

[FilthyBroke]

Yeah, I should have probably been a little more specific.  I am interested in historic events, and money that would have been in circulation in the period.I thought I'd try some U.S. notes from important periods in U.S. history. How's this for a start?

#1- Revolutionary War, #2- Civil War, and #3 the "old west". 

I'm looking to buy on a budget, but get the best example that I can find for my money.  Artistry is a plus.


Thanks for the list, Scottishmoney, I'll check those guys out this afternoon. 


Deagle74, I read some threads over on the CU Currency forum, and I'll look through the info over there for help.  BTW, I didn't know there were different mods for different sections over there.  I have hardly posted there since D.Willis decided to make his presence known.  Thanks for the info.


Cpm9ball, I am just now getting interested in paper money and am starting a little research. I have seen too much deception on Ebay in the area of coins to go into this without as much knowledge as I can get.  I just have to hold back my enthusiasm until I get some basic knowledge in this area. Unfortunately, I'm a good long drive from the Chicago show but if they ever would do a big show a little closer, say Atlanta, I'd sure be up for it.

[Scottishmoney]

If you are looking for Revolutionary war era "colonial" currency, the market has literally been flooded with materiel coming out from the John J. Ford sales - there is some amazing stuff out there and quite a bit of common stuff that if you look in the right places and or negotiate with sellers you can get at a nice price.

Colonial currency was always a side interest of mine when I was a kid and that was when I bought most of what now comprises that collection - the prices on the choice stuff have gone up, but really when you adjust for inflation they have actually declined in value because of all the stuff now out on the market - it is a veritable glut of stuff and realistically there are so few collectors of the stuff.

A lot of people frankly don't know about it, and if they do, well colonial currency is not very pretty.  It doesn't compare to say obsoletes - where you have colourful well designed notes - often with my obligatory maiden on them.  In essence, colonials are one of those overlooked areas with a lot of materiel and not a lot of collectors and that makes for a good opportunity to buy nice stuff.

Here are a few I have picked up in the last year or so:



The above note is signed by John Hart - very shortly thereafter he was in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence.



Printed by the Ben, aka the dude on the $100.





One I have owned since I think I was in high school, I remember paying $100 for this one, which was a princely sum for a teenager but this is a nice uncirculated note and fairly rare in the grade.





Again not a pretty note by any means, but one that was printed in huge numbers but very heavily circulated and used and then redeemed by the City of New York so much so that very very few remain.  For me this note has an added attraction in that it was printed by Hugh Gaine, well let's put it politically correct - he was a pinko of his time that was probably more Tory-Loyalist to the British than was oft suspected but he also was a bit of a teflon Don in that nobody could make the accusations stick to him.

[Scottishmoney]

The Civil War has always held a fascination for me, I have read literally very many books about the war, both pro and anti-Union and a few that were somewhat balanced.  Of course the war played out on paper money:



Issued pretty much to finance the Union's debts during the war, beginning in 1861, and incredibly even for the time having a portrait of Abraham Lincoln who was rather remarkably unpopular with many in the said Union states contemporaneously.

Of course the South got in on the act, printing practically as much paper as the Union, but not backing it up with a victory and eventual payout years later like the Union did:



An interesting note with the purported original Southern Belle - Lucy Pickens:



My favourite notes from that era in the USA though are the postbellum era notes issued after the cessation of hostilities commencing in 1861:



With this stunning vignette that was symbolic of the Union welcoming the South back into the United States - notice the cast down swords at the young ladies feet:



But then again not too much changed, notice the "sharecroppers" ie ex slaves:



So yes indeed, history is on USA paper money, and historically the designs were much better even if a politician managed to find his way onto money during his lifetime and his presidency.

[FilthyBroke]

Very cool!  I have been looking around, and I see what you mean about the obsolete notes.  These are very interesting!  I wonder what the market is on these, as there are SO many different issues and the fact that they are so location-specific.  Would you have trouble reselling if necessary?  Are there a lot of collectors for obsolete notes? 

I remember seeing a guy at our local show last week with a display of about a dozen different North Carolina notes, I should have paid closer attention to what he had.  I'm really looking specifically at PA notes, from where I grew up.  Wow, there are so many directions that one can take in starting a collection!

[coinsarefun]

Beautiful examples and I really wish you wouldn't post them as I
am becoming very interested and starting to want to get some

[FilthyBroke]

Well, this just arrived this morning.  In my usual fashion, I bought it from off Ebay from a seller I hadn't seen before.  The price was decent (I think), and he shipped it well, so I'm pleased with it.