Notaphily

Numismatics

Numismatic terminology

Currency Coins, Banknotes, Forgery Circulating currencies Community currencies Company scrip, LETS, Time dollars Fictional currencies

Ancient currencies Greek, Roman, Byzantine Medieval currencies Modern currencies Africa, The Americas, Europe, Asia and Pacific

Production Mint, Designers Coining, Milling, Hammering

Exonumia Credit cards, Medals, Tokens Notaphily Banknotes Scripophily Stocks, Bonds

Notaphily is the study of paper money or banknotes.

It is believed that people have been collecting paper money for as long as it has been in use.^{[citation needed]} However, people started collecting paper money more systematically in the1940s but the turning point occurred in the 1970s, when notaphily was established as a separate area by collectors.^{[citation needed]}

At the same time, some developed countries such as the USA, Germany and France began publishing their respective national catalogues of paper money, which represented major points of reference literature.

In 1961, The International Banknote Society (IBNS) was formed as an international association of banknote collectors. Nowadays it has thousands of members from around the world. The IBNS regularly publishes the IBNS Journal, the "Newsletter of the IBNS" and regular auctions, lectures and congresses.

The major contributor to this study has been Albert Pick who published some of the earliest catalogues of paper money and through them explained the objective of collecting paper money and the definition of it. Albert Pick is also the author of the capital part of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, which consists of thousands of pages of almost the entire collection of the world paper money that has ever existed and is constantly updated. Almost every note of every country and many special and regional issues are cataloged following a unique format for each entry: [Country Name]P[unique number for the banknote edition]

So, we have something like: Yugoslavia P-117.

A banknote from former Yugoslavia which is identified as Yugoslavia P-105

An important aspect of collecting banknotes is the condition of items. Banknotes that haven't been issued and circulated are rated as uncirculated (UNC) and that is the highest classification for a value that a banknote can have. In addition to that, the value for a specific note in the world paper money catalog is listed for UNC condition.

Recently, third party grading company's (TPG) have started to offer the service of authentication, grading and cataloging of common varieties of paper currency. These TPG's typically use a seventy-point grading scale to describe the note. Additional notations may be made for exceptional paper quality or other varieties.

Following examination, TPG companies typically encapsulate the currency in what is commonly referred to as a "slab." Similar to the issues surrounding the transition that occurred within the coin collecting field many years ago, controversy exists about the need or value of TPG notes. Without having the ability to closely examine and feel the note due to it being sealed inside the slab, many collectors are not comfortable accepting the opinion of others as to the grade and may either elect not to purchase the note or to cut it out of the slab for examination. Additionally, many noted mistakes in grading by third party grading services have been discovered. However, for collectors less adept at grading, purchasing a note in a slab can provide some additional comfort for the owner in justifying the purchase and cost. It also serves to help protect the collector against unethical activities designed to increase the worth of the note by pressing out folds, washing, repairing tears, or other alterations typically viewed as unacceptable thereby lowering the value of the item.

People collect paper money by:

• Topic (wildlife, ships, famous people)
• Time Period (Series, date)
• Country (native or favourite)
• Serial Number
• Grade
• Varieties caused by major or minor design changes
• Replacement or star notes commonly used to replace errors discovered during the printing process.

See also

• Numismatics
• Coin collecting
• Numismatic terminology

External links

• Atlantic Provinces Numismatic Association
• http://www.banknoteworld.com
• Notafilia.com.br
• Banknote Image Catalog by José María Creus
• First Ukrainian Banknotes
• Society of Paper Money Collectors
• Professional Currency Dealers Association

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