Are You A Queen Elizabeth II Banknote Collector? Share Which Are Tough, What Ones You Need, Etc.

-Thanks again @Bas S Warwick (my 2 $20 errors are my favourite)

Here is the reverse of 1979 $20 (P-93 or BC-54c) with an offset printing error featuring her majesty:

These were probably the most unpopular denomination for collectors back in the day (with the mysterious 11 digit SN moved to the back) & they can still be bought for very little premium to this day.



BIRDS TWOS (P-94 or BC-54a,b,c)
Nice add. There were over 1.5 billion of these printed too so I did not cover them. Like the tail end of the 1974 TWOS, the BIRDS TWOS continued the 3rd letter "X" to denote replacement function. The most exciting thing to happen to these notes was when the new Thiessen-Crow signature was found on three formerly Crow-Bouey prefixes (AUG, AUH & AUJ). These are very scarce. Later it was discovered that full runs of these & AU, AUL, AUM & AUN prefixes were not released & these too, held slight premiums for a time. I'm not so sure that they're all that popular now as runs of these have been sold (which cools down demand).
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note201910.html

1991 BIRDS $20 P-97 or BC-55a,b,c,d


These can be quite popular & like the TWO, had the same "X" replacement serial numbers which were caught & saved in bulk. However, unlike the Robin note, the Loonie $20 started 5 years later & collectors saw undesignated "insert replacements" or small batches of strange prefixes in untouched bricks. These became popular as collectors figured that fewer inserts would be caught. Some collectors also noted that few Back Position Numbers (BPN) were missing on certain "Bonin-Thiessen" ESZ, EVA to EVH notes. The last EVH prefix became the one most sought.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note201573.html

2004 TWENTY P-103 or BC-64a,b,c


This happens to be one of my favourite QEII notes because the BoC finally incorporates some of Canada's indigenous art on the reverse and print dates can be found here too! Collectors, like your's truly, followed the release of this series closely and discovered many change-over signatures, years & prefixes! In addition, countless sheet insert & Single Note Replacements (S.N.R.) were later discovered.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note201920.html

World Collectors
The new millennium also happens to mark an era when the number of currency collectors also increased dramatically. With online tracking, collectors had more data than they knew what to do with. I think this forced many of us to start searching for the older notes again. But then again, it also made us appreciate special serial numbers. I know that there are many inexpensive radars, low #, Million # notes, ladders and repeaters out there.

New Zealand $20 - Issue 4 - penultimate paper note design
1981-85
Queen Facing Forward
Signed H R Hardie - Type II

Hard to pick a nice one less than 3x face, unless you get very lucky.

CAYMAN ISLANDS
This little economic powerhouse, via its unfettered banking laws, is a great place to start, if you wish to collect inexpensive QEII notes on a budget.

1971 Currency Law Issue P-1 to P-4
Like BoC (Canada), Cayman Island Currency Board $1.00 notes, with the young QEII portrait are very inexpensive in Choice UNC. P-1 to P-4 are ONE, FIVE, TEN & TWENTY FIVE Dollars. The 1971 version are very easy to confuse with the 1974 version (since they look identical other than the small date under "CHAIRMAN"). I will discuss these two series together and then add the exclusive 1974 denominations last.

Look for P-5a-f if you're on a budget & P-1a,b or a "Z" replacement if you really dig this nation's notes. Check out:
http://www.banknote.ws/COLLECTION/c...ENCY%20BOARD
for an overview of the various denominations.
P-1 & P-5a,b,c,d,e,f One Dollar
has A/1 or A/2; prefix while P-5 has various prefixes beginning with A/3. The note is grey & white with light green & blue underprints. The reverse has a stunning design of tropical fish & exotic coral. There is a sea-turtle watermark.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note205167.html
P-2 & P-6 FIVE DOLLARS


Note: there is nothing to distinguish this olive green note other than the date which is below "CHAIRMAN." A sailing ship is on the reverse & I have not seen any Z replacements for this denomination.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note223660.html
P-3 & P-7 TEN DOLLARS
These notes are red & orange on the front but the printers added a light blue on the reverse. Once again you have to look below the CHAIRMAN "Issued under the Cayman Islands Currency Law 1971 (or 1974) to determine which P-#. I find both equally tough (in all grades) but P-3 generally is more expensive than P-7.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note239441.html
P-4 & P-8 TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS
Tan brown & olive greens make this unusual denomination quite eye-catching. The reverse has a map of the islands. Both P-4 & P-8 are very tough and pricey.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note267268.html

1974 Currency Laws P-5 to P-11
Most of the 1971 notes were released in 1972 and two short years later the 1974 version arrived with 3 larger denominations: FORTY, FIFTY & ONE HUNDRED. Below I will examine these last three denominations & why they're actively sought after by collectors.
P-9 FORTY DOLLARS


I find the colour scheme of this note to be very similar to the $25 except a little mauve makes it slightly less tan. I also like the seahorses on front and the Pirate's Week Festival engraving on the reverse. It is a tough note to acquire but (with the exception of the scarce replacement) probably slightly easier to source in high grades than the 1971 $25 or $50.

P-10 FIFTY DOLLARS
This acqua-marine, green & orange note is a very tough note to come by (in any grade) since $50 was a lot of money to hold onto "back in the day." I'm not sure how many were issued but it couldn't have been that many. It has a little cabin in the middle of its reverse design.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note267271.html

P-11 ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS
This red & brown highest denomination is also rarely seen (like the $25, $40 & $50). And while they were released in the early 80's, very few were kept as collector's items so they can be tough to find and quite dear.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note287599.html

1991 Currency Board P-12 to P-15
The next design change came in 1991 for FIVE DOLLARS & up. P-5c to f were still used for the ONES & one of the reasons they're so easy & cheap to find. I have to say that the 1991/1996 series really amped up the colours & they really become much more attractive (though I'm partial to the first series since they're so darn scarce & great fun for the collector!).

Looking good!

Before I move on to Ceylon & Cyprus (tomorrow) I just want to finish off with the later Cayman Islands series:

1991 Currency Board P-12 to P-15



This $10 was a Christmas gift to myself & I'm sure glad I picked it up. Notice how these have the former "Currency Board," Jefferson's signature (the 2nd signature from the first series) and very vibrant colours. This $10 has a Z/1 replacement too (not shown).

1996 Currency Board P-16 to P-20
The LAST "Currency Board" issued in ONE, FIVE, TEN, TWENTY-FIVE & ONE HUNDRED. Again, these are easy to acquire but are a bit more "old school" than the successors. P-18b TEN has an "Experimental" or TEST note X/1 (100,000) which is very scarce & collectible.

Cayman Islands Monetary Authority 1998 to today
P-21 to P-New
I like the designs of these notes & they can still be picked up relatively cheap for QEII notes (especially the higher denominations) though how long that will last is anybody's guess. P-30 their Commemorative ONE DOLLAR also has a replacement P-30r with a Z/1 prefix:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/note223582.html

P-34 $5:

@walk2dwater
Thanks for the links to numista catalogue. I did not know that they had so much detailed information, especially about the number of banknotes produced.
I would like to know where they got/get their information about the number of Canadian banknotes printed, especially from the last ten years?
Are these official numbers or did some numista members count the numbers via the prefixes found?