Important Things to Know BEFORE You Buy Rare Coins & Currency

For over two thousand years, numismatics, or the study of coins, tokens, medals and paper money, has been a fascinating pursuit for many.  In addition to providing hours of enjoyment and entertainment, coin and currency collecting offers unique educational experiences spanning a variety of subjects from history and geography to chemistry and economics.



While we here at SAFE focus on preserving your coins & currency with coin cases and currency albums that are archival, we believe that helping you become more educated in all of these topics to be mutually beneficial.

In recent years, another reason for involvement and interest in rare coins and currency has arisen: for an individual to make a profit on the sale of their specimens after holding them for some period of time, often several years or more. Some items have shown dramatic increases over the years, rewarding those knowledgeable individuals who have purchased wisely. However, if you are new to numismatics, there are a few things which you should understand and keep in mind when purchasing rare coins and currency for possible future appreciation.

PNG has recently published a brochure that discusses this and the following topics that we highly recommend to you:

• MAKE SURE NUMISMATICS IS RIGHT FOR YOU
• BE SURE OF WHAT YOU’RE BUYING, AND FROM WHOM YOU’RE BUYING IT
• WATCH OUT FOR “MODERN RARITIES”
• BEWARE OF BARGAINS
• LEARN ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING
• SELECTING A REPUTABLE DEALER

What is the Optimium Storage of Banknotes?...

Recently on an IBNS forum, I responded to a post from Asia asking "what is the optimum storage of banknotes?"

There certainly are a number of things that a currency collector should consider, such as quality currency holders, and I have paraphrased some of the responses into a few categories and included my own comments for the readers benefit:

1. Temperature & Humidity - It should be on the cool side (less than 70 F) and most importantly - consistent. You do not want to store your collection in an East-facing room with windows that heat up with morning sun or a room with drafty windows that gets cooler in Winter. Humidity can also be a problem as paper naturally absorbs the ambient moisture. The effects of inconsistent humidity will cause paper to become more brittle over time. You should consider keeping desiccant gel packets with your collection wherever you store it.
2. Ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun will fade paper relatively quickly and can also make it more brittle.  Do not leave your banknotes out in the sun for any length of time.  Ideally storage should be in a room with no windows.  You can study your banknotes with Ultraviolet Lamps without any concern as you generally only do this for a few minutes at a time.
3. Clean hands are essential. The introduction of natural hand oils and other contaminants can cause staining and damage over time to the banknotes. Keep your food in the kitchen and wash your hands before working with your currency.  Ideally, use cotton gloves to handle the banknotes themselves.
4. Acid-free storage materials.  Of course my personal favorite.  Currency holders, currency album pages, and cases MUST be free of plasticized PVC and chemical stearates.  The material used in many inexpensive 3-ring binder pages, emits hydrochloric acid over time and will damage the notes. Be careful to only use SAFE Currency Holders or Currency Albums that are made with acid-free materials.

Currency Grading - Seems a bit subjective to me...

This week's post comes from a conversation I had with a Currency Collector at this weekend's Houston Coin Show who purchased one of our Graded Currency Albums.  They wondered why their Confederate note received a lower grade, than a similar note that was on sale at another dealer's table.  Is the grading by PCGS or PMG subjective? 

I explained to them that there certainly are some subjective elements to grading, much of it is very objective.  We have many currency albums designed around Graded Currency, but this list below that I have paraphrased from Navona is a nice summary of how notes are graded.  We have the heaviest weight currency pages in the world contained in our Professional Currency Albums. 

Currency is graded on a scale from 1 to 70 where a "70" is absolute mint perfection with no flaws and perfect centering, while a "1" would be something pulled out crumbled out of your pocket!  Take a look at the explanation below and when you are ready to store your graded notes, please make sure to visit our website for Currency Albums - they really are simply the best in the world! 

Gem Uncirculated (GEM UNC) (65 – 70)

By definition, an uncirculated banknote in mint condition with no flaws or folds and perfect centering.  Grades above 67 are rare and banknotes in this condition are most sought after by serious collectors.

Uncirculated (UNC) or Crisp Uncirculated (CU) (60 – 64)

By definition, an uncirculated banknote is a mint note that has never been handled and should by default be crisp.  However, graders use UNC and CU though they should be synonymous. The corners should also be sharp and square.

About Uncirculated (AUNC) (50 – 59)

The “A” stands for “about” or “almost” uncirculated banknotes.  This is a perfect banknote with some handling, but appears uncirculated to the naked eye.  Upon closer examination, these banknotes may show marginal wear observed with very light creases or slight folds that are not pronounced.

Extremely Fine (XF) (36 – 49) While there are no tears or stains on a XF banknote, light handling is apparent with several small folds, though none of the folds stand out.  Most Confederate banknotes rarely make it to the AUNC or UNC category, but are classified as XF.

Very Fine (VF) (20 – 35)

A Very Fine note should not have any tears but minor stains or dirt may exist.  There should also be more pronounced folds, while the banknote is still relatively crisp.  The edges of the banknote will show some wear, but will not have any traces of rounding.

Fine (F) (11 – 19)

A Fine (F) note may have some minor stains and some small tears that are not pronounced.  The tears should not extend into the design, but should be limited to the edges.  The color of the banknote may also be faded with age.  The note may have also lost some of its crispness.

Very Good (VG) (6 – 10)

Very Good (VG) note may have stains and tears that extend into the design.  The color of the banknote may have faded with age and it may appear limp.  However, no part of the banknote is actually missing. 

Good (G) (3 – 5)

A Good (G) note may have significant stains and/or graffiti, frayed edges and faded color.  The note may also be limp due to excessive handling. 

Poor (P) (1 – 2)

A Poor (P) note is the lowest grade possible.  Such a note could be severely damaged with missing pieces, frayed edges, and discoloration and could be limp from excessive handling.  It is generally not recommended to purchase a note with this grade unless the circumstances are such that the note is extremely rare.

How do I find out more about a banknote I can't even read?

This week's question may surprise you.  Even as a supply dealer, I receive phone calls looking for help unrelated to paper money supplies.  The collector said to me: "I have this foreign banknote I just picked up in a collection of banknote albums I just purchased, and I have absolutely no idea what it is.  Any ideas on where I can find out more about it?"

The first and easiest thing you may want to try is a local coin show in your area.  Many dealers, while not specialists in currency, generally have good contacts and cursory knowledge of where they would suggest you to turn.  If you are in an area of the country, or the world for that matter, where there are no shows close by, I would suggest you head to the most knowledgeable currency organizations.  I have provided links below to each of them:

IBNS - International Banknote Society (www.theibns.org)
SPMC - Society of Paper Money Collectors (www.spmc.org)
PCDA - Professional Currency Dealers Association (www.pcdaonline.com)

The first 2 are collector organizations that are non profits and there sole purpose is educate the community.  The PCDA is a dealer organization that could provide you a list of currency dealers that may be in your area within the US.  But either way, the dealers, and collectors are usually more than happy to help. 

In the case of our friends at the IBNS, they even have a forum where you can post an image of your banknote and see if anybody has any ideas.  While I generally can't help, I enjoy reading these forums and seeing some of these unusual items.  These organizations are filled with great members, who thankfully purchase many of our currency albums and currency sleeves.   But I can tell you from personal experience, there are always people who simply love to help identify obscure items.  Plus, you might even make a new friend in the process!

Ultraviolet lamps - why?

This week, a long time coin collector, who recently has started collecting currency, asked me about ultraviolet lamps, and how they are used with Banknotes?

Longwave ultraviolet (or black light) is the popular name for near-ultraviolet radiant energy, which falls just outside the visible spectrum. When it falls upon certain materials, it makes them “fluoresce,” that is, to “emit visible light.” What actually occurs is a conversion of energy. The ultraviolet that is invisible, falls upon the fluorescent surface and is absorbed and re-radiated at longer wavelengths in the visibility range of the human eye. 

I believe that having at least an inexpensive Ultraviolet Lamp is essential to enjoying the hobby to its fullest.  I've been using a UV light since I was a kid.  It really opens up a whole new way of enjoying your collection.  Best of all, you can find all sorts of varieties that are not cataloged - slight variations of color, completely different UV printing on what appears in visible light to be the same note, etc. 

Different countries use different papers and having the UV light is a wonderful to discover the world of UV printed images on notes!  Most countries around the world utilize some form of fluorescent inks/paper to secure their issued currency.  Some are seen using shortwave UV, but most are able to be seen using the less expensive longwave UV light. Some are quite intense and have various colors, while some are quite simple.  Here is a nice sampling of some of UV Banknotes from another IBNS member.

In a future blog, I will try to address watermarking on banknote paper.