Latest Blog Entries
Washed Banknote
January 29th 2021
I read, and hear about this a lot, sellers 'washing' a banknote to make it appear better than it is. Sadly, what this actually does it automatically downgrade a banknote it terms of IBNS grading criteria. From the IBNS website:
Cleaning, Washing, Pressing of Bank notes
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Cleaning, washing or pressing paper money is generally harmful and reduces both the grade and the value of a note. At the very least, a washed or pressed note may lose its original sheen and its surface may become lifeless and dull. The defects a note had, such as folds and creases, may not necessarily be completely eliminated and their telltale marks can be detected under a good light. Carelessly washed notes may have white streaks where the folds or creases were (or still are).
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Processing of a note which started out as Extremely Fine will automatically reduce it at least one full grade.
Sadly I have just received my first example - sold as A/UNC but you can clearly see a faint crease, lack of sheen etc. It's clearly been washed so it's lucky I didn't pay much for it.
So annoying though right?
No more Clydesdale Bank banknotes
November 29th 2020
Sad to hear that Clydesdale Bank banknotes are about to become much more scarce. The brand's owner, Virgin Money, is retreating from its contracts to supply cash machines run by rival lenders. This means the Bank will no longer be issuing any more new notes, and you will also not get a crisp Clydesdale polymer note when drawing cash out of Santander, TSB, Co-op or Asda ATM machines. The contract to supply them is being taken over by the other issuers of notes, Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland
The Clydesdale Bank brand has been around for 182 years, but by the end of February 2021, it will have disappeared from the fascia of all its branches, replaced by Virgin Money.
So as a positive, the value of rarer Clydesdale banknotes will now go up due to them becoming rarer in the field. Great for collectors but so very sad for one of Scotland's oldest banks.
Rare banknote fails to sell!
November 2nd 2020
On October 28th, Dix Noonan & Webb had an extraordinary note up for auction. It was a spectacular Bank of England £5 note dating from 28 December, 1863, signed by Matthew Marshall and was estimated at a cool £10,000- 12,000!
Andrew Pattison Head of Department, Banknotes at Dix Noonan Webb, explained: “when it was printed in 1863, this Marshall £5 represented the absolute height of Victorian technology. All of the recent advances in paper making, printing and watermarking, are all clearly visible in this beautiful banknote. In fact, this exact design was used until 1956 – a further 93 years and the fact that it has survived in this condition – almost as if it had been printed yesterday – is miraculous.”
So what did it go for? well it didn't, it failed to reach the reserve! anyone got a spare £10,000 I could borrow??? Absolutely stunning note and if you want to see it, it is here: https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/lot-archive/lot.php?lot_uid=379986
Cross-over Bank Note
October 28th 2020
This is a first for me, and weirdly I was reading about it the other day.
Someone had got a Sarah John signature on the BOE Polymer £10 note, what's unusual about that you may ask? Well.. Sarah John took over the signature of the BOE notes late in 2018 so the last couple of batches feature her signature - but they are rarely seen.
So imagine my surprise when going through an ATM withdrawal and finding one! I'm delighted to find it and it'll make a nice addition to my collection. A first Sarah John for me!
Rare Scottish note added to the collection
August 26th 2020
Had to share this with you all, added a stunning note to my collection today! It's a rare and important banknote for any serious collector of UK banknotes.
This is a NS43b North of Scotland Bank Limited £1 note, dated 1st July 1949 with a General Manager signature of G L Webster (same name as me weirdly). What makes this very collectable is this was the very last issue from this bank, it was later acquired by Clydesdale Bank in 1950.
It's a shame about the annotation on the note but it's still in About Fine condition. Big thanks to Ian at https://www.britishbanknoteseller.co.uk/
I finally sold some notes
August 24th 2020
So I did it, I finally sold some of my notes - 5 in fact! I'm precious about my collection but these 5 were of lower value and lesser importance, in comparison to the larger collection.
It was a good offer and they have gone to a new collector, building their collection. At least they have gone to somewhere they will serve as a starting point.
As always, I'm happy to receive messages about any of my collection and now you know it may be a yes!
Nice Note for the collection
August 12th 2020
Keeping up with my theme of getting first run banknotes, I was lucky enough to get this note for under half it's value! It's a 1981 B341 Somerset £1 - very first run and low serial number
I'm really pleaed to add this to my evergowing collection - keep an eye on what's being added as there are some beauties going on the site!
And, as always, keep an eye out for those bargains - you don't always get them but when you do you appreciate them so much more
Green Apple Auctions - an opinion
July 18th 2020
Just an upfront statement, this in my own opinion - others may have their own views.
So, as I said before, there are many auction sites. All are pretty much the same but I don't get a good feeling about this one. There are a couple of reasons for this, firstly the commission and posting prices are very high and secondly, the site verifies you when you don't get the email!
Let's take the first point, the commission fee is a whopping 10%. I have seen higher on other sites but the notes are generally in the more expensive range. Not on this site, they have some good notes but nothing amazing. Now the P&P fee which is $20 regardless of where you are. So...you find a note, for example I found one with a value of about £35 and the bid was up to £20. Say you win it, then add on the 10% and then the $20 (£18) P&P you actually make a loss on the note!
Second point, and this one worries me. I signed up and waited for a verification email, whilst waiting for theat email I got an email from someone in Turkey asking if I had issues. This was 5 minutes after signing up. I replied stating I was waiting for the verification email and then would look around the site. 1 minute later, an email saying no need to wait they have verified me and issued me a new password??
I found this highly unusual and not great security, you use instinct a lot in this hobby and my instinct told me to walk away from this site. Again, just my experience and opinion
Auction Win - serial numbers
July 18th 2020
In an earlier post, I said keep an eye on the auctions. There are some outstanding notes in there and most you will never win. But...sometimes you do! If you look at the picture, you will see why I wanted it. It's a 1948 Peppiatt with a fantastic serial number!
But why are serial numbers so interesting? Other than the fact they can increase the value of a note by a lot, they add character to a note. When a certain banknote is found frequently, collelctors try to get the best serial numbers out fo them. A fancy serial number includes: Solid, Radar, Low, High, Repeater, Binary, Ladder etc. This list can be longer or shorter in different regions.
You will know an unusual serial number when you see it - just like I did with this auction win!
Bad Packaging!
July 11th 2020
Do you know what is annoying as collector? you do all your research and hunt down your bargains and rarities, make your purchase and then you are in the hands of the seller. What you hope for, when they post the notes, are basics such as:
1. Plastic wallet with the note(s) inserted
2. Plastic wallet inside of harder packaging, normally cardboard
3. decent packaged envelope
but no, I get 2 x 1971 Page £5 notes delivered in this. I am so lucky they were not damaged - either by even more bending or rain! They would have been wrecked!!
Let's hope I don't get many more sellers like this.
Grading standards - a gamble
July 1st 2020
So, anytime you buy a banknote from somewhere like eBay it's a gamble. It's a gamble for 2 reasons - firstly it might not be a genuine banknote and secondly the grading of the note may not be accurate!
All you have to go on is the picture, description and the seller ratings. I've been pretty lucky though, with only a couple of purchases falling outside of the promised description. Take the note opposite, purchased as UNC. Pictures look good right? I bought it as I needed a Scottish Parliament commemorative note for the collection, and this looked the best of all available.
Upon receipt though, and closer inspection, I can see a slight fold in one corner and 2 barely noticable creases on the obverse. I say barely noticable, but I could see them and they are not counting folds! For me, the note just looks like it's been mishandled but if I use my most objective grading, I'd have to put it as EF only. Luckily I hardly paid anything as it's still a nice note. Remember the definition of UNC from the IBNS:
"The word “Uncirculated”: is used in this grading guide only as a qualitative measurement of the appearance of a note. It has nothing at all to do with whether or not an issuer has actually released the note to circulation"
Make sure you check your change
June 16th 2020
As a collector, and because I work with banknotes, I always keep an eye out for notes with 01 serial numbers. Obviously the lower the serial number, after the prefix, the better but still getting hold of any first start pleases me.
Normally you try and find them on seller sites, auctions etc but I always make a point of checking every ATM cash withdrawal and change anywhere as, sometimes - goodies turn up!
These don't have to be super valuable, this is in EF condition so probably only worth about £6 but it's what I collect, so getting it in my change is a bonus! So keep checking, you never know what you might find.
Birthday Haul!
June 10th 2020
Another Birthday, another year closer to 50! But, the beauty of a day when people buy you gifts is I can get some bank notes for free! Sent over some suggestions and ended up with some real beauties to compliment my collection.
Today's haul was:
O'Brien £5 (H31 563245), Fforde very first run £1 (AN01 636637), Lowther £5 (HA01 007335), Beale £1 (J01J 000395) and RBS £1 (A1 666249)
Scottish Commemorative Notes
June 3rd 2020
I've always loved the commemorative banknotes, particularly the Scottish ones. RBS have issued a number over the years and I find them very creative.
I managed to get hold of 2 notes that were going spare this week, a 1992 European Summit and a 1994 Robert Louis Stevenson. Not particularly high in value but a lovely addition to my collection.
The RL Stevenson note is graded as EF but upon receiving it, it might be better than that. See what you think!
Auctions are back open!
May 29th 2020
Good to see the Auctions are now accepting internet bids again, I've popped in a couple of bids on some notes I like. Truth be known, I rarely win them! It's a complete lottery in my opinion, notes I think are valued fairly (in terms of range) go for far more and notes that I think look really good go for less! I guess it depends on what people have their heart set on but it's worth watching a live auction and some bargains slip through the cracks.
I only really use 3 sites:
London Coins Auctions - I find this site has some excellent lots, with good descriptions
Dix Noonan & Webb - very easy to bid, no pre-submitted form needed. In my experience though, the notes go for quite a bit above reserve
Bank of England - they sell the first 200 serial numbers of new notes but bring your big wallet - the notes go for thousands of pounds!!!
Anyway, fingers crossed for the bids.
Nice Replacement bank note bought today
May 26th 2020
Although I tend to be more interested in first series, first runs and last runs of banknotes I do like the replacement notes also. Based on this, I keep an eye out for any 'bargains' that I can acquire.
Spotted someone selling this 1963 Hollom One Pound Note replacement, in About Uncirculated condition. Managed to get the note for £8, and with a value of approximately £30-£40 then that is a pleasing result.
Another nice note to add to my collection!
'Error Polymer Notes' on Ebay
May 25th 2020
I am lucky that, in my job, I get to work with the Bank of England. Not just work with them, but attend the forums on the number of errors and counterfeits in the public domain. This gives me the true figures, rather than the inflated or made up numbers in the press!
I'm going to concentrate on the Polymer notes here, and let me say straight away that there are fake notes. However, these are very poor quality - one example is made of paper which was accepted by a merchant!!
Collectors love errors and very good forgeries, but eBay is not the place to buy them. There may be one or two reputable sellers but the recent listings of Polymer 'printing errors' and missing text/blank notes are completely false. What saddens me is people are bidding in their droves for these notes. STOP!!! Sellers spend hours rubbing away at the Polymer notes to deface them, the notes are designed to be durable but they are not infallible. It's also against the law by the way, to deliberately deface a British bank note.
Have a look at the pictures I have added, please do not bid on these auctions. You will only lose your money.
A new site has begun
May 24th 2020
Hello all, and welcome to my new site!
Why did I create it? well, 2 main reasons actually. Firstly, I wanted somewhere that fellow collectors and interested parties can see my personal collection and see how it grows and changes over time. Secondly, a visual record of all my notes in case anything ever happens to them - that way I have a quick and easy way of tracking them.
I hope you all enjoy this site, all feedback and enquries welcomed. In addtion, any assistance you need let me know.