It's been a while since I worked on this site but I am getting back to it. I will be updating the look and feel and the valuations. The market for currency is as active as ever but prices have changed for the better in some cases and the worse in others. The National currency market is kind of soft with the notable exit of some major players.
I am continually surprised how many different ways people have to collect currency. Someone approached me the other day and pointed me to this site: Paper Money Graffiti A web site devoted to the grafitti on paper money. I am sure there are some interesting notes to be seen there.
The Paper money show in Memphis was most notable this year for the blockbuster notes that showed up. For the National Currency collector the holy grail was discovered in the form of a Series 1882 $10 Brownback on the First National Bank of Juneau, Alaska. Any brownback on Alaska would be a major discovery worth enough to pay off a nice house but this one wasn't just any brownback. This 1882 ten dollar bill was a beautiful choice note and a Serial number 1 for good measure. This note is worth a million dollars and probably more. There might be another one of these notes out there. If you own one please contact me and then write your resignation letter, you won't be needing that day job.
I am sometimes asked how I got into collecting paper money. I had been collecting coins since I was about 7 years old but had stopped for some years. In 1991 I was living in New York City and remembered my coin collecting past so went looking for a coin store. I ended up walking into Brigandi coin store on 46th and 6th (or thereabouts). Along with the coins they had paper money on all the walls. Once I saw that you could collect national currency from a particular state I was done with coins for good. I had been growing increasingly nostalgic for my home state of Idaho so this new collecting venue allowed me to keep myself entertained while still nurturing my love of the state. I still have my childhood coin collection. It's not worth enough to sell but does remind me of my early days as a numismatist.
I am told a Lewiston Idaho territorial bank note came out of the weeds in the Pacific Northwest this weekend. Details are sketchy but it seems the note was acquired by a dealer from Texas. I asked the usual suspect and it wasn't them. If you know of the note or the story behind the note I would love to hear it.
Spring is here which normally means a quiet currency market as people get outdoors to enjoy the weather. Happily, it might be different this year. Notes are selling well and for prices I would consider to be robust. I will be following the market carefully over the spring and into the summer to see if my prediction was correct. After the shellacking the currency market took in late 2008 it's nice to think we might be coming out of the darkness.