Serial Number - Begginers Guide (5)

By Liliana E. González

@LilianaElena

This post is part of the book Beginner’s Guide To Collect Paper Money, check it out at Banknote Heaven.


Set of numbers and or letters on a note. The serial number is perhaps one of the oldest security devices on a banknote. Using unique serial numbers on each bill, governments are able to closely track legitimate bills.

Sometimes serial numbers get “unusual” like one number repeated several times or filling series as “12345678” or the notes called “radar” whose serial numbers are the same backward and forward.

Collectors also buy sets of banknotes in consecutive serial numbers.

The notes below show a “radar” serial number 663366 and 6226

Denomination (face value) - Begginers Guide (6)

By Liliana E. González

@LilianaElena

This post is part of the book Beginner’s Guide To Collect Paper Money, check it out at Banknote Heaven.

The denomination or “face value” shows the type of currency and how much the banknote is worth.

There are some inflationary notes issued by countries with hyperinflation times. Those notes have abnormally high denominations.

The bill below is from Yugoslavia and it has a face value of 500 million Dinara.

Watermark - Begginers Guide (7)

By Liliana E. González

@LilianaElena

This post is part of the book Beginner’s Guide To Collect Paper Money, check it out at Banknote Heaven.

A watermark is put onto a banknote's paper prior to the printing process as a security device. Watermarks look as a blank spot on a bill. You can see a watermark holding up the banknote to the light.

The note below has the Tutankhamen’s mask as a watermark at right.

Printer's Name - Begginers Guide (8)

By Liliana E. González

@LilianaElena

This post is part of the book Beginner’s Guide To Collect Paper Money, check it out at Banknote Heaven.

Oftentimes the printing company's name will appear on a banknote in very small letters (sometimes abbreviated also) usually in the white frame area at the bottom of the bill.

Some collectors look for notes printed by American Banknote Company or Thomas de la Rue.

The banknote below was printed by American Banknote Company

Overprints - Begginers Guide (9)

By Liliana E. González

@LilianaElena

This post is part of the book Beginner’s Guide To Collect Paper Money, check it out at Banknote Heaven.

Official printing added to a note for purpose of giving it a new value. It is usually done for an issuing authority to 'revalue' a country's money in order to overcome extreme inflation. As a temporary measure while new notes are being printed and distributed, the existing notes are sometimes overprinted or stamped with a new value.

The banknote below has a face value of 10 Centavos overprinted on 100 Cruzeiros banknote:

Specimen - Begginers Guide (10)

By Liliana E. González

@LilianaElena

This post is part of the book Beginner’s Guide To Collect Paper Money, check it out at Banknote Heaven.

Invalid note overprinted or perforated with the word specimen. It is Made for reference files, or currency recognition by other countries. It has usually all zero serial numbers.

Below is a beautiful specimen note from Swaziland.

Notgeld - Begginers Guide (11)

By Liliana E. González

@LilianaElena

This post is part of the book Beginner’s Guide To Collect Paper Money, check it out at Banknote Heaven.

From the German roots “not” (necessity) and “geld” (money). Notgeld were produced by almost 3500 German and Austria towns and cities from 1914 to 1922. Colorful little notes printed surface (rather than engraved). Most notgeld were issued in small denominations of 1 mark or less 50 Pfennig, 25 pfennig, etc.

Below is a set of 4 notgeld from 1920 issued by City of Steinfield