RealBanknotes.com is, and always will be a free website. Even the members section is free, and always will be. However, while programming the site I decided to make registration ‘By Invitation Only’ because I am more concerned about the quality of our members, than the quantity. So, as part of the system, a registration code is required to register as a member, and registered members have only a handful of invites that they can offer. As of February 1st (today) I have started handing out some registration codes to begin the process of registering interested members. I have a handful of friends in this hobby, and a few favorite eBay sellers as well. However, I will also be posting a few invite codes on this Paper Money Blog as well as on RealBanknotes.com. Once they’re gone …

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See you at RealBanknotes.com!

Well, as promised the RealBanknotes.com website, version 3.0 has been launched, and a day early! The website features a huge number of improvements (too many for me to list) but the biggest, and most obvious improvements are the layout (including proper ordering of pick numbers for each country) and the members area. Registration operates on an invite system, so registration is not open to all. However, by the end of the month I will have the members portion of the website both coded and tested, and will begin issuing invitations at that time. From then on further invitations will be available to members, so that if you know someone who has registered they may invite you to join. Also, I plan on offering 10 registration codes on this blog, so stay tuned. The plan is to unveil the registration codes on the 1st of February, so please check back then if you are interested in joining the ranks of RealBanknotes.com. This site has been a labor of love, and has cost me hundreds of hours of my time, but I am eager to see the notaphilic community grow around it.

For now visitors can view the new site, including a much larger gallery of banknotes, images, and catalog and eBay values. Please take a look yourself. Here’s a screenshot:

Sample gallery area of the paper money site RealBanknotes.com.

Although the front end of the site has been pretty much completed, the added functionality for both members and non-members has given the RealBanknotes.com project a high level of complexity. Where there would usually be a graphics designer and three to four programmers, there is only me. Furthermore, I have recently purchased the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money Modern Issues 2012 edition, and I have also pre-paid for the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money General Issues 2012 edition which should arrive in late November. New issues and all catalog values for 2012 have yet to be added. All these things taken into account, in combination with all of the goals and paid work that continuously interfere one-with-the-other, I have decided to set an actual goal for site launch:

January 4th, 2013!! (first Friday of 2013)

I know that it is a ways off, but with this goal I will be accomplishing two things: setting a definitive schedule for progress while giving myself the time required to make this into an instant success with a minimal number of bugs and omissions. What you will be able to expect:

- 43,000+ banknotes
- 10,000+ banknotes with images (front and back, where relevant)
- 15,000+ banknote values
- listings that include descriptions, catalog values, and ebay sales histories
- listings will also include banknote dimensions, banknote issuers, and issue names
- country write-ups
- relevant and frequent paper money articles
- listings of recommended and current online paper money auctions
- a forum for users to offer feedback and meet members of the notaphily community

Let the count-down begin!

Well, the new site is coming along. Its definitely a lot of work, and so I do appreciate the patience. Its been a long time coming, but at the same time the new website is much more complex than the old, and it is all being custom coded. Currently, I am adding both user and administrative functions which will allow the site to be maintained in a very efficient manner. I am building the site so that when registration is open, users will immediately be able to create useful accounts and have the ability to contribute to the community through scan uploads, news publishing, and the creation of ‘favorite banknote lists’, ‘ebay auction lists’, and ‘banknote wishlists.’ The paper money forum will be created after the site has been launched …

Maybe a teaser screenshot?

Latest Screenshot of the New Website

The latest version of the paper money collectors website RealBanknotes.com is still under construction. However, lots of progress has been made in the last couple of weeks, and although I can’t pin-point a date, I am hoping to have the latest version online soon. It features a much more elaborate database, with updated values, and added functions such as a members section and forums. However, be forewarned: the members section will be ready a few months after the launch of the site. The front-end will be online in the near future, and the back-end … well … in the future ;)

However, with the current version we are approaching 1.5 MILLION banknote views. Not bad considering that the site was launched just over a year ago. Anyways, enough pats on the back for myself.

Here is a preview of the new site:

Well, I’ve fallen behind in the blog … again. However, its not because of lack of interest or procrastination. I am in the midst of building a much improved version of RealBanknotes.com which will include better display and organization of banknotes (finally banknotes will be organized by pick number!!) Furthermore, the site will have its own blog, search, forums, top 10, featured auctions as well as a members section with advanced features such as value tracking, image uploading, and other such things.

I am also adding catalog values for 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011, as well as thousands of banknote images are being added to the gallery/listings.

As usual, I am open to suggestions for features and functions that you would like. Please let me know by emailing me at: proteus [at] realbanknotes.com.

I’m hesitant to post a screenshot, because the new website will be much more attractive than what it is at the moment, however:

RealBanknotes.com v3.00

The listing of paper money from China is the last hurdle in my bid to add images and catalog values, from the 2008 catalog, to RealBanknotes.com. When I began China consisted of about 4000 banknotes. From the onset I wanted to combine Japanese China, Taiwan, Chinese Puppet Banks, etc into one category: China. This was to make the search process easier for visitors. However, I found that I cannot process 12000 catalog values at once, because the system is programmed to do an entire country in one shot. Hence, I have retracted and re-created Chinese subsidiaries, as follows:

Empire of China
Republic of China
Japanese China
Russian China
Chinese Puppet Banks
Chinese Manchukuo
Chinese Taiwan

The divisions have already been created. Also, values for all subsections excluding the Republic of China have been added to the database. Images for some of the subsections have been uploaded as well. Its been a few hours of work for me, so I had better get back to some paid work, but I hope to have the remainder of values added soon. Pictures will be sure to follow. I should have the entire 2008 catalog added soon. Then maybe it will be time for a re-design and update? Who knows …

Its been a little while since I posted any entries on this paper money blog, but I am actually trying to accomplish something at RealBanknotes.com — I am trying to finish adding all the banknotes and values for the 2008 catalog. I know that this is a bit outdated, but this is what I started out with, so I wish to complete these entries before I revise the website with 2011 listings and paper money values. Keeping this site updated is an endless task, but its a labour of love! Currently, here are the website stats:

– Banknotes Listed: 40430
– Banknotes With Images: 8544
– Banknotes Values: 42698
– eBay Sales Values: 7694
– Banknote Views: 622405

This is a substantial increase in all areas, since the last website update. Thank you for your patronage! If you haven’t been on our site yet, visit RealBanknotes.com for paper money images and values. Cheers.

Its been a long time since I posted any progress reports on our parent website, RealBanknotes.com. Here are the current stats, as of right now:

- Banknotes Listed: 40334
- Banknotes With Images: 6391
- Banknotes Values: 40013
- eBay Sales Values: 7092
- Banknote Views: 294206

I have recently added almost 6000 banknotes to the database, and have added images for over one thousand banknotes since the last update. Also, almost 11,000 paper money catalog values have been added recently, and our banknote views have soared by 160,000 banknote views in the last two months. That means have have had 80,000 banknote views at RealBanknotes.com per month over the last two months, and that figure is constantly growing. Thanks for your support.

Next on the agenda:

Adding the remainder of the paper money catalog values for the 2008 catalogs. There are only a few thousand more values to add, but I am taking a break from adding catalog values and have decided to add more photos / images of paper money. Once I am bored with adding images, I will revert back to adding catalog values. Once I have both catalog values and images updated for all nations up to 2008, then I will probably toy with the idea of a design change in preparation for the 2012 catalogs.

Its been a while since I updated the blog on the statistics for RealBanknotes.com but, truth be told, this is because I have been not only too busy to update the blog, but also to make much of an addition to www.RealBanknotes.com. This will change over the next month, as I have re-hired a data entry company to finish adding paper money from the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Modern Issues. Then I will be in charge of adding catalog values as well as images to the database, but that’s for another day. As it stands, here is what we’ve got on the site at the moment:

- 34809 Banknotes listed
- 5369 Banknotes with images
- 29008 Catalog values
- 6527 eBay sales values
- 136082 Banknote views

Thank you for your patronage! To support the website, and this monumental project, please take a moment to click one of the ads on the site!! This is very much appreciated, always.