When I first saw this note, I was deeply intrigued by the face side of it. No, not the portrait, but the images to the left and right of the portrait. At the bottom left there is an image of a huge and beautiful sail ship. At bottom right there is an image of a huge iron-clad ship from the early 20th century. I found this to be extremely interesting, and was excited to find a few of these banknotes available on eBay for under $20, so I bought a few. Even in F condition, a banknote that cost $20 has been bought at one seventh of its catalog price, if the catalog is to be believed. Either way, this is a beauty that I recommend for both investors and collectors. Old, beautiful, valuable, and cheap in eBay … what a combo!

Latvia pick 18a: 25 Latu from 1928

I’m not sure what it is, but it seems to me as though the selection of quality banknotes on eBay has taken a drastic drop in the last month. Maybe its just me, but from what I have seen it is quite obvious. I am seeing a ton of ‘penny notes’ and really small auctions as well where sellers are listing 10-20 banknotes at a time. Most paper money available for auction, it seems, is either extremely common or in really rough shape. And any banknotes that are of any value that are listed, have been selling for ridiculous money. I guess that that goes hand-in-hand with the general lack of quality banknotes or of anything that is remotely interesting. I hope that this trend ends soon, as I have really not been making any purchases lately.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed this?

I cannot believe that there are still tons of one dollars bills from Malaya from 1941 available for under ten bucks. Occasionally you can still come across 20 and 50 cent bills as well, though they are usually a little more costly than the one dollar bills. Ofcourse, their availability hints at a fairly healthy supply, but considering the age of the banknotes, the fact that they feature King George VI, and the fact that they are from a non-existent country, I would think that they are a solid investment for those who are buying paper money for the purpose of selling it down the road.

How can this kind of bill not grow exponentially in value, considering I have bought many examples in VF condition for $7.51 – $14.55?? I’m stocked up. I suggest you do the same.

Malaya p11 from 1941.

This, really, was not a good purchase in terms of investment or in comparison to the catalog value. This banknote in Good condition is valued at $2.50, and I purchased it for $5.85. However, I love these old notes, and this one is a whopping 130 years old. Not my oldest note, nor my most valuable one, however, as cost-per-year goes, probably the best purchase in that category.

The government of Montenegro never cared to convey any of their history, culture, ecology, architecture, art, etc. on their paper money. Its a shame, but regardless, for the most part the money looks like ugly old stock bonds or worse. So, in making my latest purchase, I was not purchasing a banknote for show: it would be strictly an investment. All paper money from Montenegro seems to go for around $25-30 though the few rare denominations that exceed 10 Perpera do sell for considerably more. I bought this one for $6.15.

Old Curacao paper money is selling for huge money right now. I don’t know what inspired the rise in cost, but I have noticed that notes that used to sell for $3-$4 a month ago, are consistently selling for $25+ at the moment. Look for bargains, if you can, but I noticed that the supply is very small on eBay.

This note, in particular, is the one that is sold most frequently, and I remember selling for a few dollars apiece not too long ago:

Curacao 1 Gulden from 1942.