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What To Look For: Banknotes In Circulation

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smn's Avatar
Australia
43 Posts
 Posted 06/23/2015  11:14 am Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add smn to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
What should I be looking for in a banknote to see if it's worth more than face value before I spend it?

I've heard about the prefix but what is it?

How do you know what year a banknote is from?

What are the significant serial numbers to look for, I've heard the terms; high, low, radar, repeater. But what do these mean and are there any other terms to describe significant serial numbers?
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XavierOfGreen's Avatar
United States
2589 Posts
 Posted 06/23/2015  2:49 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add XavierOfGreen to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
A binary note has only 2 numerals in the serial number (ie: all 5's and 7's), a solid has only 1 numeral in the serial number (all 7's), a radar has a serial number sequence that is reflected half way through the number (ie: 98655689), low serial numbers depend on the series and number of digits in the number, in US currency anything under 1000 is generally considered low (IE: 00000299) the lower the number the more valuable. a repeater repeats a sequence in the serial number (IE: 22442244). Many countries banknotes do not have a year on the note reflecting when the note was printed, rather the year may indicate when the design was last changed, the signature on the note is often the best means of roughly telling when a note was printed if the date does not reflect that information.

Also look for errors, such as missing printings, inverted printings, gutterfolds, overlaps ect.
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MobOfRoos's Avatar
Australia
762 Posts
 Posted 06/24/2015  08:05 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add MobOfRoos to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
I've heard about the prefix but what is it?


It is the two letters in the serial number. First and last prefixes are very collectable. First prefix will be AA (or if it is a $5 it will be BA)and the last prefix varies depending on the year and the denomination. You can find out the last prefixes from a coin catalog or from the Reserve Bank website


Quote:
How do you know what year a banknote is from?


The first two numbers after the prefix are the year.

For example


What-To-Look-For:-Banknotes-In-Circulation

The prefix is DD
The year it was printed was 06 (2006)
The serial number is 000156


Quote:
What are the significant serial numbers to look for


A really low serial would be anything under 000100
A really high serial would be anything over 000900
An example of a radar would be 729927
An example of a repeater would be 727272
A solid serial number is all the same such as 777777

I hope this helps
Formerly nancyc
Nevol's Avatar
Australia
5385 Posts
 Posted 06/24/2015  7:11 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Nevol to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
A really high serial would be anything over 000900
I think MoR might have meant 099999.

Others that may be worth more than face are one off solid eg: 099999, 999990 etc if you get the drift.
life is a mystery to be lived not a problem to be solved
Valued Member
Australia
176 Posts
 Posted 07/01/2015  9:56 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Pedro to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I've always found the following website a handy reference point for note prefix information (the site is up for sale so not sure what that will mean in the longer term).

http://australiancoinsandbanknotes.com/

Pedro
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