Funny money?

[english si]

Wait, is Liberia one of the countries that had its government overthrown in the "Arab Spring"?

No - it's not Arab and it had its civil war earlier.

Not that there's much money in Liberia...

[bugo]

Sure they are.  Anything that somebody collects is by definition "collectable".  Older $2 bills are collected, and star notes are very sought after by collectors (I don't have any in my modest collection.)  Not all coin collectors are in it for the money.  I save every half dollar that I find just because I like them.

UPDATE: I found 2 $1 star notes last week.

[SP Cook]

Liberia is in west Africa.  It was founded in the 1840s by returned American slaves who mimiced US institutions (civil, religious and fraternial) and dominated the 90% native population until overthrown in the 1980s.  Since then the place has been in pretty much prepetual civil war.  It is not Arab, nor muslim, nor related to the "Arab Spring". 

The coin deal there was run by an outfit called "American Mint".  They make contracts with tiny countries to produce stamps and coins that are, at least technically, legal tender in those countries.  They then puff up the value with infomercials.  The coins and stamps have generally never even been in the country involved.  In addition to Liberia, they have used Palau, the NMI, the Cook Islands, and others. 

[formulanone]

The coin deal there was run by an outfit called "American Mint".  They make contracts with tiny countries to produce stamps and coins that are, at least technically, legal tender in those countries.

Similarly, one of San Marino's biggest revenue generators is supposedly postage stamps. I think Hungary was another nation who made some really nice-looking stamps that would commemorate just about anything. Wasn't long before the USPS followed suit...choice of Elvis, anyone?

Most coin collectors are quite aware of the American Mint or Franklin Mint...they prey on folks who will either collect a type of item based on its subject, or those who just collect stuff because they like to waste money. And yet, there's some who will buy a coin because they really like the artwork, or collect coins from a certain nation, et cetera. Not everyone's in it for the projected value of it all.

[oscar]

Wasn't long before the USPS followed suit...choice of Elvis, anyone?

They did Elvis back when the first-class rate was only 29 cents IIRC.  I still have one of those stamps.

Not too soon for USPS to try again, huh?

[hotdogPi]

I have a group of coins that is separate from the other coins I have, and it has a theme: One of each number denomination, from different countries.

I don't know where it is right now (I looked for 10 minutes), but I remember some of what's in there.

In addition to the normal 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100, I have these:

1/12 from India.

An American quarter for 1/4. It says "Quarter Dollar", not "25 cents", so it counts as a denomination of 1/4.

2 1/2 centimes from Luxembourg, 1901.

3 is produced in several countries. I chose Cyprus.

Sixpence.

8 doubles from Guernsey.

15 from Russia. (Russia also produces 3 and 30, but I can't have more than one of the same country.)

60 from I forget what country.

200 cash (very old coin). Not sure of the country.

500. It may be 500 yen from Japan, 1981.  (I know I own that. It's worth $6 face value! Can it still be used?)

1000 from either Indonesia or Turkey.

Turkey had ridiculous inflation.

The numbers 100+ are always either during inflation or with a country that doesn't have a bigger unit.

Stil looking for 4 (this is a low-price collection, no silver 4 pence. Anyway, England is already used.) Also looking for 1/10, 1/3, 1 1/2, 30 (can't use Russia twice), 40, 150, and 250, as well as others that are very unusual.

[formulanone]

The groat (4 pence) might be your best chance.

[agentsteel53]

"one dime" can count as a 1/10, as dime is derived from a latin word for a tenth portion.  however, since you already have the US, you would need to find a new jurisdiction for the 1/4 or the 1/10.

the 1000 from either Indonesia or Turkey - both countries use the Roman alphabet, so for a low-cost modern bill it should be fairly straightforward to identify who issued this one.  I don't think Ottoman Turkish banknotes came in 1000 denomination - and if they did, they'd be surely quite rare.

[agentsteel53]

as for a 250, here is a banknote from Georgia for under $4, shipped.  I'll bet with a bit of research you can find one even cheaper.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Georgia-250-Coupons-Laris-1993-P-43-UNC-07124865-/380807391966?pt=Paper_Money&hash=item58a9e3aade

leave it to a country who uses a non-Roman alphabet to put their numbers in Arialveticverstesk!

[hotdogPi]

the 1000 from either Indonesia or Turkey - both countries use the Roman alphabet, so for a low-cost modern bill it should be fairly straightforward to identify who issued this one.  I don't think Ottoman Turkish banknotes came in 1000 denomination - and if they did, they'd be surely quite rare.

If I saw it, I would know. I can't find it right now.

[Alps]

200 cash (very old coin). Not sure of the country.

Pic?

[Thing 342]

as for a 250, here is a banknote from Georgia for under $4, shipped.  I'll bet with a bit of research you can find one even cheaper.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Georgia-250-Coupons-Laris-1993-P-43-UNC-07124865-/380807391966?pt=Paper_Money&hash=item58a9e3aade

leave it to a country who uses a non-Roman alphabet to put their numbers in Arialveticverstesk!

Speaking of Georgia and inflation, I have a Confederate Banknote from Georgia for $0.25. It's probably as worthless as it was when it was printed (1863), but I keep it in a frame. The oldest coin I have collected organically (i.e. found) is an Indian Head penny from 1881.

[hotdogPi]

200 cash (very old coin). Not sure of the country.

Pic?

This one, found on Google Images, looks just exactly like mine, except the color is slightly different.

[Alps]

200 cash (very old coin). Not sure of the country.

Pic?

This one, found on Google Images, looks just exactly like mine, except the color is slightly different.

So then the site it came from will have the answer!

[hotdogPi]

It's from China, and it's worth more than I thought.

[1995hoo]

The coin deal there was run by an outfit called "American Mint".  They make contracts with tiny countries to produce stamps and coins that are, at least technically, legal tender in those countries.

Similarly, one of San Marino's biggest revenue generators is supposedly postage stamps. I think Hungary was another nation who made some really nice-looking stamps that would commemorate just about anything. Wasn't long before the USPS followed suit...choice of Elvis, anyone?

Most coin collectors are quite aware of the American Mint or Franklin Mint...they prey on folks who will either collect a type of item based on its subject, or those who just collect stuff because they like to waste money. And yet, there's some who will buy a coin because they really like the artwork, or collect coins from a certain nation, et cetera. Not everyone's in it for the projected value of it all.

I believe the Principality of Sealand sells stamps and coins, if you want something odd.

[J N Winkler]

1000 from either Indonesia or Turkey.

Turkey had ridiculous inflation.

If it is Turkish, the denomination will be given in writing as "Bir bin lira" and the front will likely have a portrait of Atatürk while the back shows a Turkish prestige project of some kind--the Çanakkale memorial, Şanlıurfa dam, that sort of thing.  But this note will not be a recent issue since the exchange rate was already 10,000 lira to the US dollar by 1980.  When a friend and I travelled to Turkey in 2000, one-million-lira banknotes were in wide circulation, and we had to learn to read the denominations in Turkish since that was easier than counting zeroes (thousands separators were not used).  The key vocabulary was bir = one, iki = two, bes = five, on = ten, yüz = hundred, bin = thousand, elli = fifty, milyon = million.

I think I still have some Turkish banknotes in an envelope somewhere . . .

[hotdogPi]

I own a 1000 coin from both Indonesia and Turkey. I'm just not sure which one is with this set of coins.

[bugo]

I've found 3 star notes in the last week, 2 $1 bills and a $5. 

[bugo]

I received a Series 1969C $10 bill tonight and last week, my mom received a Series 1990 $20 bill.  You forget how ugly our current bills larger than $2 are until you see the handsome old designs.

[bugo]

When I was a kid, Franklin 50 cent coins were as common as other change. After JFK's assassination, Congress quickly moved to remove Franklin and replace him with Kennedy. I guess for a while the Kennedy half dollars were treated by the public as commemorative coins rather than common currency, and they fell out of use. I can't remember the last time I saw one. As the point above was made, up until the 1930s we had coinage worth many dollars at a time when that was real money, and now our coinage effectively stops at a quarter dollar. I am personally all for the dollar coin, as I've seen how convenient it is in other countries that use coins for their main unit of currency.

The Kennedy halves as commemorative coins hypothesis is true.  The 1964s were the only 90% silver Kennedy halves that were minted for circulation.  After the silver content for 1965 was lowered to 40% then the Franklins began to disappear.  1970 was the last year halves contained silver and were not minted for circulation.

Somebody will occasionally spend halves at the store where I work.  I've even gotten 3 Franklin halves.  I have gotten into the habit of asking cashiers if they have any halves and sometimes they will have a couple.  I scored a 1968 40% silver half this way.

[Scott5114]

I see so many star notes now (that happens when you're dealing with five digits for your opening drawer amount) they fail to register, but I have noted that the 2009 $100s are an excellent series for stars.

More noticeable to me is the gradual changeover from Series 2009 to Series 2013, since Jack Lew's signature catches my eye since it still seems out-of-place. Along with this is the tail end of Series 2009, which went on for long enough to feature some unusually high block letters (the last letter in the serial number) in the $1s from district L. The L...W block, which was the last block printed for district L, has been circulating here. For comparison, Series 2006 only reached L...S and 2003A reached L...Q. (The last series to exhaust block letters was Series 1995, which ran district L all the way up to the end of Y, which is the last block letter, as Z is reserved for testing purposes. To compensate, San Francisco was sent notes from district I, which had block letters to spare.)

When I get halves, I disburse them as soon as able. Most people like them since they take up less space than two quarters, and they're annoying to deal with at end-of-shift countdown (I have to account for halves, dollar coins, and twos in one box that says "Miscellaneous").

If you're in a casino and it's not crazy busy, asking the cashier if they have anything interesting can be fruitful–we see so much cash that sheer probability dictates something interesting has come through, and older bills are usually set aside since the slot machines won't take them. I am happy to sell them to customers that won't gamble them away because I am not allowed to buy anything out of my own drawer.

[bugo]

A few days ago I was counting a stack of $1s and for some reason I noticed something "off".  I fixated on the signature which was different than what I was used to seeing and looked a little closer and noted that it was a Series 1974.  Last night I saw the obverse of a penny and saw the date, even though it was too far away to read.  I thought "that looks like a wheat" and sure enough, it was a 1951-S.  I'm starting to subconsciously note differences in money that I don't consciously think about. 

[bugo]

If you're in a casino and it's not crazy busy, asking the cashier if they have anything interesting can be fruitful–we see so much cash that sheer probability dictates something interesting has come through, and older bills are usually set aside since the slot machines won't take them. I am happy to sell them to customers that won't gamble them away because I am not allowed to buy anything out of my own drawer.

Is there anybody you know that could come in and buy the coins that you have found and then sell them to you at face value plus a small fee for going to the trouble?  Maybe I should make friends with some of the cashiers at the local casinos.

[formulanone]

I'm starting to subconsciously note differences in money that I don't consciously think about.

You can kind of visibly spot pennies which have a higher copper content, the odd 1943 manganese-nickels (when they wear somewhat, they almost appear like a dull chrome), and odd 1960s paper money (which seems to be less pliant). Haven't worked around cash tills in many years, so I miss out unless I can see anything odd...so many credit card transactions kind of makes this disappear from my life over the years.

Just saw the new $100 bills last week, and the purple really stands out...in an ugly way. But if this is what it takes to deter counterfeiting, what can you do?