I Want To But A Graded Note As My First Note

I personally always buy the highest grade I can afford. So most of my graded notes are 63 or up, and for the expensive ones... less

Even for a highly graded note is there sort of a minimum amount you need to spend to have a reasonable expectation the note will appreciate?

Why do you want to buy a graded note ?, half the fun of collecting is learning how to grade and not being at the mercy of a TPG'er, that will cost a bunch of $$$ that will have to be added to the cost of the note.
Bill Collector

Very subjective question, but I can tell you what I like as a suggestion. I've always liked the 1918 Battleship $2 note, http://www.wikicoins.com/Fr_747-780...tleship_Note. And the only reason I like this one is because as far as I know, the US hasn't put a submarine on any of its notes yet. But at $3 to $6K depending on bank of issue for a high grade note, too expensive for me.

I would also suggest that whatever you pick for your first, try to make it mean something to you... denomination, serial, bank of origin, imagery, etc. That way you'll never regret the decision.

Not necessarily BC If you pay attention you can find some good prices on slabs. The thing to remember is how much the note is worth and set your top price (low) and stick to it. If you aren't afraid to lose it you will eventually get one for a really good price. The trick is time and patience. I will lose 30 auctions for every one I win, but when I do win I'm happy with the price because I stuck to my system.

Budget is down to you... If we knew how much you were looking to spend then we could choose appropriately for you.

My criteria on notes is that they are undamaged (holes, tears or writing put me off) I try to buy notes that offer a good balance between value for money and condition. This means older and rarer notes I will except more creases and circulation than I would on a modern more common note. I personally wouldn't buy any graded note, I would prefer a better condition ungraded for the same money.

I don't have so many notes that I need to complete my US note collection (each denomination with each colour of seal and then some 'types' such as Black eagle, Large notes, etc.)

To start maybe you want to get something like a woodchopper or a black eagle note since these designs are unique, or start with a set perhaps trying to get a set of yellow seal issued for ww2 notes.

I guess I have to agree with DavidUK when he said:

"My criteria on notes is that they are undamaged (holes, tears or writing put me off) I try to buy notes that offer a good balance between value for money and condition. This means older and rarer notes I will except more creases and circulation than I would on a modern more common note"

"I personally wouldn't buy any graded note, I would prefer a better condition ungraded for the same money"

Sorry Nickelman,
If I waited till a "bargain" note to came along, or only bought notes at "bargain" prices I would have a very small collection.

I buy what I can afford and the highest condition I can find. I try an build a collection of various notes, both Large and Small, so very seldom buy notes I don't need or already have, if I happen to find a nicer note than the one in my collection and I can afford it I buy it, BUT I sell the other one to help pay for the nicer one I just bought.

This has worked out very nice for me over the years and at this time my Small Size note collection is just about complete except for a few of the more modern notes and I know that sooner or later they will come my way as there common.

Have been working on my Large Size collection and finding that nice notes are much harder to find. I can see that if I wait for bargains to come along at my age I'll never come close to completing the collection the way I want to.

The important thing for me is to enjoy building the collection of notes, I never worried about the investment part of it as it seems to take some of the enjoyment out of it, if I looked at it as an investment I wouldn't be collecting as I know much better places to invest money to make money, in fact my investments is where I get most of the money I use to buy the notes for my collection.

Enjoy the collecting part of it, if you keep building your collection it will go up in value over time, you may not get rich on it but I think it will be more fun.

Again, like DavidUK said.
"I personally wouldn't buy any graded note, I would prefer a better condition ungraded for the same money"

Remember, graded notes cost money, what your buying is someones opinion as to what they think the grade is, this will cost you a bunch of money over time, I think that money would be better spent on buying nicer notes.
Regards
Bill Collector

I understand. I just don't have the budget to buy at will, I can only imagine the monster that would be created if I won the lottery or something My collection would take on a life of its own.

I'd bet that even if that were the case I would still for the most part try to find the "bargains". For me there is an intrinsic joy in doing so, but of course spending hours trying to find them is not for everyone. Actually truth be known I really like people such as yourself that don't mind paying top dollar for notes because I do sell off my "bargains" from time to time.