Recently, I attended the East Midland IBNS Chapter Meeting. Besides sharing information, news, and seeing other banknote areas of interest I was pleased to buy the Two Volume edition of ‘Paper Money of Scotland’.(2018) What a wonderful guide to Scottish banknotes and banking history. Not only is there a fantastic guide to pricing of modern… Read more »

I have been with my bank for over 30 years and have a good rapport with the staff behind the counter. IWhen I go in I always ask if they have any AA01, AA** prefixes on the £10 and £5 polymers. I always pick up notes in this way. The polymer collection of AA01s and… Read more »

I spoke to a well-known dealer this week. I was told Premier League footballers are entering hte banknote market to buy notes in order to increase their portfoloio!!! ‘Portfolio’ is a word few of us would ever think of using in banknote collecting. We all look for something special and each of us has different… Read more »

A British £5 note has undergone lots of changes over the years. Nowadays, we are all familiar with the polymer £5 that fits easily into the wallet, purse and pocket.I think many people are taken by suprise when they see a white fiver (£5 note). White £5 notes were legal tender till 1961. Nowadays, a… Read more »

Some banknotes are washed to imrove their grading. Most sellers avoid this practice but sometimes you can buy a washed note as the seller is not aware what has happened. Washed banknotes are a bit like thicker paper and have a very different ‘feel’. Some sellers can be unscrupulous so it is important to ask… Read more »

Errors are things we want to eradicate in our working lives but in the case of B ritish and World banknotes, errors are very collectible items indeed. Banknote errors are found in paper, print and numbers. There are some spectacular paper errors with ‘fishtails’ and folds. Some banknotes have dry runs with faded images or… Read more »

I was an avid British banknote collector for many years and still buy to build up my own collection. Having surplus notes led me to sell them on ebay (faffa2793) and now I have my own British Banknotes website. Does this make me a dealer, a banknote dealer running a business? Does being a dealer… Read more »

Banknotes and social change go hand in hand. An example is Tibetan currency. Bank notes were introduced into Tibet in 1913. Prior to this, coins were the currency (and bartering) dating back to the 1600s. The banknotes – Tam – were printed with a clear red seal of the Dalai Lama and the black seal… Read more »

When I started collecting banknotes some years ago I had no idea of bank note grading, Bank of England Cashiers, First Runs, Banknote Errors, Debden Sets and World Banknotes. There is no doubt that Pam West’s ‘English Paper Money’ (EPM) has to be the vademecum, the essential companion for all British Banknote Collectors. At £20… Read more »

Sometimes people come across a collection of old British or world banknotes that belonged to a relative who has died or moved into a Home. An Executor or the person with the Power of Attorney may wonder what to do with them. I know some just put them in the bin as part of a… Read more »