After recently missing an opportunity on a beautiful antique Nicaraguan banknote featuring a farmer plowing his fields with his oxen a new opportunity re-emerged with a similar scene on Turkish paper money. Pick 199a is a 1 Livre banknote from 1926, which is quickly becoming either very expensive or scarce on eBay, and features a man plowing a field using a couple of oxen. I wasn’t really looking for this banknote in particular, and it wasn’t really a bargain if I use the standard catalog of world paper money as a reference, but I think that it is one of those banknotes that will prove its investment value within a relatively short period of time. This one cost me $50. On the other hand, the lowest Buy It Now price on eBay, for a note in similar condition is $130, so suddenly it doesn’t seem like I overpaid!

Turkey p119a: 1 Livre from 1926

Prior to the 1945 Dollar Issue of Ethiopian banknotes the currency was entitled the Thaler, no doubt an Africanized version of the word dollar. The denominations ranged from 2 Thalers to 500 Thalers, with 100 Thalers being the second highest denomination. Quite to my surprise my bid was a winner on eBay, and I ended up landing the famous ‘Elephant note’ from Ethiopia. I have yet to see a 500 Thaler banknote up for auction on eBay, so I am very happy to have this second highest denomination as part of my collection. Definitely a huge investment potential in this one. As a matter of fact, the seller contacted me after the fact, and told me, in a sportsmanlike manner, that he was quite disappointed with the closing bid because he had just see a similar banknote sell for nearly eight times what I had paid for it at a banknote auction.

Ethiopia p10: 100 Thalers from 1932

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)

I have recently purchased a complete set of Liberian banknotes, at what I think is a good deal. This seller has a few more such sets, and I thought I’d share the deal with you guys (I am assuming that you consider this a deal ;). For just $23 + $3 shipping you can get the 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollar set sent to your door. Check this deal out here: benrita2010 eBay store.

Here’s what you can expect:

Complete set of Liberian paper money from the 2009 issue.

As I have stated in an earlier blog post here, there is a huge influx of old Spanish paper money on eBay right now, and many banknotes are quite inexpensive. I have purchased a few banknotes because as the supply went up the price did the opposite. However, this trend can only continue for so long before it turns around. Aside from having some issues with the seller (which are rare on eBay; his user name is ‘maus’ something), I am quite happy with my banknotes. These 1000 Peseta notes (I also bought 500 Peseta notes) were purchased for $17.50 apiece and are in VF-EF condition. The serial number of these notes indicates that they were a Republic issue printed in 1936, and are therefore not worth as much as the initial issue, but these are great none-the-less.

Spain 70c: 1000 Pesetas from 1925

I can seldom afford sets of banknotes for any given country, but I have purchased a five banknote set from the Maldives on eBay for a very reasonable price. This set includes p18c, 19b, p20, p21, and a more recent and unlisted issue. Respectively, the denominations are 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 Rufiyaa. I love the colors in this set, but I must admit that though this package contains five banknotes, the sixth eludes me (and my budget!). It is the highest denomination of paper money from the Maldives, which is p23: 500 Rufiyaa issued in 1996 and then again in 2000.

Maldives Paper Money set: picks 18 to 21

I caved and bought a random banknote that I found very interesting on eBay. Usually if I buy a banknote that isn’t on my ‘want list’ I am reluctant to spend a lot of money, unless its a great investment (and this note may be), but this time I spent $19 on an old Lithuanian banknote. Its not particularly pretty, but it is semi-scarce and I was very happy to buy it. The cherry on top of the icing, however, was the fact that the eBay seller tikrainesimas threw in a free banknote which was an oldie, and in AU condition. In the olden days sellers used to throw free banknotes in more often than not, but these days its very scarce. I also purchased a set of Tajikistan banknotes at a great price. In appreciation of this, I would like to direct you to his store, which often has older banknotes from Lithuania, Latvia, and Ukraine. You can visit the store here! Here’s the note I got:

Lithuania p24a: 50 Litu from 1928

There is a very large influx of Spanish banknotes on eBay at the moment. I have no idea what triggered this, but banknotes from spain, particularly those from the first half of the 20th century, are extremely common at the moment. I really cannot even begin to guess at what started this, but I, for one, am being cautious about what I buy. There are simply too many high denomination notes in AU or UNC condition on eBay, even though I recognize that Spain has a history of strange money printing habits associated with its wars and revolutions. But, if you’re willing to take the risk, this is a great time to purchase Spanish banknotes, particularly in bulk and with running serial numbers.

I have recently posted a banknote for sale on eBay. This banknote belongs to a friend of mine, and I have agreed to try and sell it for him. It is pick 26 from Canada, which is a $4 bill from 1902, issued by the Dominion of Canada. This banknote is similar to other Canadian $4 banknotes on eBay, except that it is an extremely rare version and, by catalog values, is worth three times as much as its more common version. This banknote has the number 4 at the top left and right hand corners on the face, and the word ‘Four’ at the bottom corners on the face. The more common version is opposite in this regard. It is actually a very beautiful banknote, as you can see below.

Dominon of Canada Banknote p26: 4 Dollars from 1902

Take a look at this note on eBay!

As part of its 1926 issue of banknotes, the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) produced, in 1926, 1929, and 1935, a one dollar banknote which features allegorical women on front and back. The front of this banknote features a helmeted woman at left, and the back of the banknote features an allegorical woman with a torch at center. This is a beautiful banknote, which is becoming more and more scarce on eBay, even the latest issue printed in 1935 (which is by far the most common issue on eBay). I managed to get this one for $20.50.

Hong Kong p172c: $1 from 1935 (HSBC banknote)