Back To The Old Topic Of Grading Banknotes

I am guessing it's the same as coins,the value of the coin or note needs to be worth more than all costs involved in having them graded.Your first step would be to determine the approximate grade of said note and look up current value. Then find out what all the costs are in sending them in. You might want to call the grading company and see if they offer a bulk note discount
John1

I remember when I got back into the hobby, around 2003, having this conversation ("to grade or not to grade") with some collector friends. We all were pretty much against it: all of us rather smug in our abilities to assess our note's condition.

Three years later, I attended one of my first RCNA conventions held in Niagara Falls. I saw my first set of replacement Devil Face notes (all UNC GEMS with EPQ graded by PMG). I must admit I think that was the moment the seed "to grade" was planted.

Anyway, I firmly remained in the say "NO" to TPG camp for several years. It wasn't until I came into some money & wanted to buy some 1935 Bank of Canada (BoC) notes in higher grade that I realized I wasn't going to throw my money on something that was washed or pressed. I was still buying a lot of currency online & not being able to inspect it had risks- so buying TPG seemed the only solution. This was around 2013/14 & I had to pay tax on some of my purchases which were the most expensive notes I had ever bought. I am still happy with these notes (compared to many raw purchases which seem disappointing now).

Anyway, to make a long story short, I finally turned 360 degrees on the issue of third party grading ( TPG) & encourage others to think twice about the merits of buying TPG. I started submitting my collection in batches of 50 or more notes to BCS (Banknote Certification Services) in Kitchener. Its been a bit painful but overall I couldn't be happier that 80% of my personal collection is graded.

I only wanted to grade my best notes & I tried to grade notes which I thought would get "Original" & UNC. I also wanted to grade notes which I figured would sell for about 5X the price of grading. Once I inspected some of them I knew I wouldn't be happy with all the grades I'd get back. I had bought a raw Devil's Face $5 off a shady auction site which was described as Choice UNC & it came back as AU50 (but at least Original). I had a few notes like that. You can see a lot of my newer (better) notes I got graded on this thread: http://goccf.com/t/417980

One of the bonuses of grading large batches was that BCS returned them with all my currency sleeves & in these lovely binders. The binders allowed me to re-organize & prioritize which notes to keep (& which ones need to find a new home).

So now I am at the point of wanting to sell off all the lower end notes that did not get graded. The website for BCS is:
http://www.banknotecertification.com/ but he only slabs BoC & CDN Chartered banknotes (unfortunately).

Problem is, if you have even a fairly expensive note, you pretty much need to have it slabbed to get full value for it.

-If this were me, I would not be submitting these (for others). The notes I discussed in my reply were graded for my personal collection. Sure, there were a few doubles that I graded simply b/c I got them through a trade or some inexpensive exchange & it would have been stupid not to grade the extra. So I did get a few extra (tough notes or special serial #) graded that I will sell but that wasn't my objective (at least 90% of the notes were for my collection) & had to meet a minimum grade/cost threshold. None were in the $1000.00 range but a minority may have been $200 - $500.



I stored my notes vertically (in boxes) & now that I have the binders the notes stay vertical as the binders sit upright in my safe. They're a perfect fit for my safe too. I have always been a bit OCD about embossing & all the note's potential eye appeal.

Here's what the binder looks like on the outside:


Here's a $5 radar from the inside of the binder:


The mylar notes are sealed so no moisture can get in (or at least that's the idea) but I like the label, the way the note displays & is stored. When I submitted my bulk submissions, each note cost about $10 CDN (tax included) which is about $8USD/note. I drove to BCS & picked them up in person (binders were included)! I felt like I was getting a dealer's deal. On a later submission I dropped them off & the binders were shipped back to me.

Now I have a set of World currency I'd like to submit but I know I'm looking at a much steeper cost ($30+USD/note) & I have had this set sit in a box for 2 years. (This is like $40 CDN per note so its basically hard to imagine & my set keeps changing!) I have hesitated big time on that submission cost so I'll see, but it is a goal. I understand certification is not for every collector but I really like my CDN binders. I think its a little like a poker game- you're either "all in" or you just pass on it.