I’ve come across a Chinese banknote, supposedly from 1914, and I can’t figure out what pick number it is. The fact that I can’t read Chinese has always made me reluctant to purchase Chinese paper money, but this UNC banknote is quite attractive, even though it is pretty much monotone red. Regardless, I would love your help in identifying this note. Any ideas?

Unknown Chinese Paper Money

I purchased a single Tibetan banknote, way back in the day, when I first started collecting paper money. At the time, I did not have a catalog which indexed Tibetan paper money. I didn’t really know what the banknote was or how much it was worth. Its was in really rough shape, but it was ornate and very unique. Since that time I have purchased a more recent version of the Standard Catalog of World Paper money, and Tibet has its own listings. Among them is p9, a 10 Srang banknote from 1941. This banknote features two stylized lions at center on its face side, and dragons and lions on the back. These notes were made by pasting together three sheets, the middle one having a two line security legend printed on it. I spent nearly $40 on this banknote, which is above catalog value, but I believe that these banknotes are actually quite scarce and few are in this good of a condition. The only question I have is whether the two holes punched in this banknote were actually used to tie bundles of money together. I have seen these two holes on other banknotes from Tibet on eBay, so I have a suspicion that these were made during the days of circulation by a bank or another such authority. Does anyone know anything about this?

Tibet p9: 10 Strang from 1941

Though catalog values have these almost at the same value, Mali picks 2 and 7 definitely have different costs attributed to them on the eBay marketplace. President Modibo Keita ‘adourns’ the face of both of these banknotes, but the back is a different story. Pick 2 features some grazing cattle, while Pick 7 features an old man and a fisherman aboard a canoe. One of these was purchased for $10, the other $42. Can you guess which is more valued?

Mali 100 Francs: two issues (Pick 2 and Pick 7)

Mozambique has quite a high number of regional issues, all issued by the Banco da Beira starting in 1919 and ending in a 1937 issue. I have managed to purchase Pick R7 which is a 1 Libra banknote from 1919. While most of these banknotes are cancelled, this one is not and according to the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money such notes are worth ‘at least double their catalog values.’ Unfortunately this one is in rough shape, but I love the fact that I now have a Libra Esterlina in my collection. This banknote cost me $10.51.

Mozambique Pick R7 from 1919: 1 Libra Esterlina

As Proteus knows, trying to get more countries gets a bit difficult after you reach the 200 countries..

Recently i tried to get a few new countries and still stay around the 10$ for every note..

Even worse some of those banknotes are not nice at all
I got a Memel 1/2 Mark.. (P-1) Interesting to note that it is written in French as the Memel territory was occupied by French troops after WWI following the Treaty of Versailles.

I also found a nice East Africa in good shape and price (P-27)

Finally talking about plain ugly note, here is a Kosovo 100 Dinars (P-?)

on my list : 238 countries out of 301

I was lucky enough to win an eBay auction for a collection of 4 banknotes from Mozambique. The notes included 10,20, and 50 centavos all dated 1914 and 10 escudos dated 1945. Note the 50 centavos has an oval shaped over stamp. Usually these notes sell for a minimum of $10 each, so I was really happy to win this lot for $24.50. Also, because they were a single lot the shipping charges were reasonable. I’ve added several banknotes from Mozambique recently, but none of this era so affordably. Here they are:

Mozambique Old Paper Money Collection (1914 and 1945)

My last acquisition was also from 1964, but unlike the last one, which was from Madagascar, this one is from Rhodesia which is now known as Zimbabwe. This time I got five pounds from said country, which is the highest denomination of its time. That particular issue was limited to 10 Shilling, 1 Pound, and 5 Pound banknotes all of which feature Queen Elizabeth II at right. The banknote is in rough condition but its scarcity encouraged me to spend the $45 USD to purchase it, and add it to my collection.

Rhodesia p26a: 1964 5 Pound banknote

Shah Reza has had many banknotes with his image on them. Throughout the 1930′s he has been on all Iranian banknotes, which are quite highly valued according to the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues (1368-1960), but not so much on eBay. As it turns out, though these banknotes can fetch upwards of a hundred dollars for the higher denomination, they do not reach the astronomical values in the catalog — at least not on eBay. This makes me wonder why the discrepancy, because the catalog is usually fairly accurate and for an entire issue to be off is strange. Anyhow, I managed to pick up a 50 Rial banknote. I love the front of the banknote, and the back of the banknote is even nicer. The 5, 10, and 20 Rial notes are most common, so this 50 is great. Check it out!

Iran 35Aa: 50 Rials from 1937

Are there still good prices for banknotes on eBay or others ?

i still think so but it takes quite some time to find bargains ..

I recently bought a French Pacific 1000 Francs for 5 US$ which is not too bad (a bit rough at the edge) at Delcampe.net

also got a nice 5 Colones from Costa-Rica (PS-122) also for 5US$ UNC (catalog price = 40$+)

I have no clue why the year is just 19.. Probably to be filled by hand .. I found out it is 1911-1917.

Also found a Northern Ireland special edition Polymer (P-203b) vertical note for 6.5US$ (As opposed to 40$ more on every other auction i saw on eBay)

Too bad it takes soooooo much time to find the good bargains

I have had a particular interest in Madagascar ever since a close friend of mine went to work there for a while. He returned with a handful of banknotes for me, but more importantly he came back with a little history and current information regarding this island nation off of the east coast of Africa. I have also noticed, since I started collecting banknotes, that the older Francs, with few exceptions, are becoming more scarce and are fetching higher prices. Hence, I picked up a couple of Madagascar banknotes to add to my collection, before they go up any higher in price. Among them was a 500 Franc / 100 Ariary banknote from 1964. It seems like Madagascar has made either one long attempt or several attempts to get away from Francs and establish their own currency. At the present time they are using Ariary as their currency, but inflation is proving to be an issue. This latest note hasn’t been current for a while, and so inflation is not an issue. For $22.87 I got this beauty:

Madagascar p58: 500 Francs / 100 Ariary from 1964