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 Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Azpiazu offers pizzazz
Posted by David
Thirty-five years of collecting have come to a head: Bob Azpiazu is selling his low and fancy serial numbered notes. Robert is a paper money dealer, but I don't mind giving a free plug here because these notes have been a collecting passion over and above his dealing. Further, he shares his information, notably in the form of a book on $1 Federal Reserve Notes he self-published last year. If you're looking to add some pizzazz to a small-size note collection — like a serial No. 3 1957 $1 Silver Certificate in gem uncirculated instead of a common type example — give his Azpiazu Collection price lists a look. Two lists have come out so far; you can e-mail him at fstctycu@bellsouth.net to request them. He'll also have many of the notes at the Long Beach Expo May 31-June 2 in Long Beach, Calif.
5/23/2007 2:36:38 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Friday, May 18, 2007
Detect imperfections at Memphis
Posted by David
The best defense is offense, the sports axiom goes. It can apply in the hobby marketplace as well when it comes to grading. There's a certain flexibility in labeling a bank note's condition, all part of "the art" of grading. The more you know about it, though, the better prepared you will be to assess someone else's grading. To help, longtime bank note collector, researcher and author Wendell Wolka will conduct a program July 7 in Memphis on paper money grading and imperfection detection. His program is free and open to all. It will be part of the Saturday meeting of the Society of Paper Money Collectors at the 31st International Paper Money Show.
5/18/2007 2:08:41 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, May 17, 2007
Web enhances June BNR
Posted by David
Something new with the June issue
of Bank Note Reporter, which should reach most subscribers within the next week, is a stepped-up effort to point out that we're
also putting information online. For example, George Cuhaj blogged Tuesday that a new holographic technology called Motion™ will be used in the next U.S. $100 bill. That news is in BNR. But we learned of it too close to deadline to include a long story. Rather than waiting a month for the next BNR, though, you can read a story on the topic by former Bureau of Engraving and Printing Director Robert J. Leuver. It's available right now at the BNR Web site. Click here to read his story. And enjoy the June issue when it comes!
5/17/2007 12:06:54 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, May 10, 2007
Look like a million dollars
Posted by David
In his Current Currency blog, George Cuhaj takes note of the new Canadian $1,000,000 coin ( read about the coin here) and looks for the highest-value bank note. As Dave Harper says in his blog Buzz, the million-dollar coin is a great public relations concept. I wonder if this will lead to more incredibly high-denomination note issues. Will we have a real million-dollar note one day?
5/10/2007 6:16:34 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Industry group honors excellence in currency
Posted by David
 The International Association of Currency Affairs announced its first-ever Excellence in Currency awards last night. Never heard of these awards before? Well, these were the first ever, given out at IACA's currency conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Congratulations to Tom Ferguson (shown at right in a 2003 photo), former director of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Ferguson was at BEP for 32 years, seven as its director, retiring in January 2006. His tenure culminated in the process of bank note redesign and technological advancement that began in the 1990s and continues today under Director Larry Felix. BEP also was honored, for its public education program associated with release of the new $10 Federal Reserve Note. Crane, De La Rue, the nation of Kazakhstan and others also received awards from IACA chairman Rick Haycock. Check out link for more award winners.
5/10/2007 11:53:24 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, May 09, 2007
BEP honors Jamestown's 400th
Posted by David
 This just in: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Jamestown
commemorative intaglio print, marking the 400th anniversary of the
founding of the Jamestown settlement, will go on sale Friday, May 18.
While the card doesn't feature a bank note, it does show an engraving
of Capt. John Smith, a portrait used for a "Jamestown Exhibit Souvenir Plate, 1907," according to the BEP.
5/9/2007 2:43:21 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, May 03, 2007
South Korea plans higher denomination notes
Posted by David
South Korea will issue 100,000-won and 50,000-won notes, possibly in the
first half of 2009, the Bank of
Korea announced yesterday in Seoul. The nation's current highest denomination
note in circulation is the 10,000 won, worth about U.S. $10.79 at the moment. The
two new high-denomination notes would be worth about U.S. $54 and $108. I don't know much about prices or daily life in South Korea — can anyone comment on how useful the new bills will be? According to an editorial in The Korea Herald online, it's about time, and revaluation of the won would be nice, too. Further news of the announcement can be seen here. People needing larger denominations are currently forced to use credit cards, electronic transfers and pre-denominated, single-use checks supplied by banks. Addition of the new denominations reflects a need for larger bills in circulation, the bank says, citing this as a sign of
increasing prosperity. The Bank of Korea's Web site doesn't mention the new notes yet, but does show notes and coins
currently in circulation, here. A separate section is devoted
to the bank's ongoing bank note redesign.
5/3/2007 3:17:07 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Digital currency a threat to bank note hobby?
Posted by David
Use of digital currency appears to be growing. At least, banks with online
banking options are heavily marketing their services. Did you know
you can get an online savings account that pays nearly 6 percent interest? I
read about it in a blog called Bank
Deals. When saving for hobby purchases, every little bit can help. Of
course, I'm not recommending any specific bank or account, nor does the Bank
Deals blogger. News reports about online banking say that use of online accounts grew rapidly in the 2000-2005
period. Growth slowed in 2006 — perhaps that's a simple enough explanation
for why marketing efforts were stepped up. Now large banks and small are
fishing for dollars online, and people are biting on the attractive rates.
Is online banking, and by extension digital currency, a threat to
our bank note collecting hobby? In our lifetimes, I don't think so. It may
even add fuel to the desire to collect. What do you think?
5/3/2007 2:39:30 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Looking into space(s)
Posted by David
 Error notes have always been popular among collectors of U.S. small-size notes. Recently an e-mail came in that raises a question. The correspondent, a 30-year collector of paper money and coins, spied a variance in spacing between the letters "FW" and the nearby plate position letters on two different Series 2003A $1 notes. (You should be able to see the difference in the image at right.) The "FW" lettering, which appears at lower right on the front of the $1 note, is found on notes printed at
the Fort Worth, Texas, production facility of the U.S. Bureau of
Engraving and Printing. Notes printed at the Washington, D.C., facility do not have the lettering. I've asked the BEP for explanation, and I'll post what I learn in an update here. Feel free to chime in with your comments. The question, though, is this: for paper money, just where do we draw the line between an error and a variety? Beyond that, will varieties be a big part of the future of small-size note collecting? Will grading services be expected to certify varieties? Which varieties? UPDATE (May 9): Carol Riggs at the BEP's Fort Worth facility tells me "(t)here is no standard tolerance for variation in the spacing of the small 'FW' on the $1 face. The engravers in Fort Worth use a visual measure to help them determine the approximate distance from the check letter." Specific to our example, she says "the quality of the engraving of the small 'FW' is clear, legible and functional and performs its job by designating that the note was produced in Fort Worth, Texas." Thanks, Carol!
4/25/2007 10:15:32 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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