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 Replies: 26 / Views: 3,200 |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
1556 Posts |
Looking through the banknotes that people sell, I often come across relatively new banknotes of 50-60 or even 70 years old, the price of which is in the hundreds of dollars. My question is as follows. Why are some banknotes issued in the 50s and 60s preserved so poorly?Even in the F, VF state, people send them for evaluation. Thus, they plan to recoup the money spent. So these banknotes are not garbage. Does so many African banknotes have value? I understand when banknotes issued in the 19th century are expensive and their condition is the result of a long stay in nature. Paper is not as durable as metal.    P.S.Photos of some banknotes for example. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5238 Posts |
In my opinion the notes probably circulated for much longer, perhaps because poeple didn't use banks as much (so the old ones werent sent in as much) and perhaps because they wanted to save printing costs. Also, they were often used in tropical conditions.
When I was in Kenya many years ago, many of the banknotes were filthy dirty rags.
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Valued Member
United States
180 Posts |
Curious to know. I would guess they're worth what people are willing to pay.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2571 Posts |
Quote:
In my opinion the notes probably circulated for much longer, perhaps because poeple didn't use banks as much (so the old ones werent sent in as much) and perhaps because they wanted to save printing costs. Also, they were often used in tropical conditions. +1 As far as I can tell, like many Asian nations, the majority of Africans held onto their money & did not have a bank account. Notes were stored everywhere, including the old standby- under the mattress. As such, these paper "workhorses" have rarely been found in original (EPQ) condition. Most higher quality notes would come from well off diplomats or those who could afford a SDB. Thus, they would be expensive to source. Nice notes Slerk! The French designs are really nice. |
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Moderator
 Australia
16806 Posts |
Paper money from "tropical" countries tends to deteriorate rapidly, far faster than it does in more temperate climates, because of the higher temperatures, increased humidity, and resultant higher concentration of moulds and fungal spores. Whatever the original print run might have been, a far smaller percentage of them survives.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
 Russian Federation
1556 Posts |
It seemed to me that a large number of banknotes and coins had to be stored in banks or in the vaults of mints. I know that this sometimes happens, some of the money is put into circulation and some is in banks. And therefore, many years later, it is not difficult to find a BU banknote. + I don't think that the economies of countries that have recently gained independence are so strong. Many African countries live quite poorly, which means that inflation is a common thing for them. You've probably seen a currency that has not had time to put into circulation and it has already depreciated. I have seen such an example with Zimbabwean coins. Quote:
Nice notes Slerk! The French designs are really nice. All these 3 banknotes are not mine. I just attached some photos for an example of my question. But I also liked the French Somaliland banknote. The seller asks for $ 322 for it. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford it. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2571 Posts |
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I also liked the French Somaliland banknote. The seller asks for $ 322 for it. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford it. -Keep your eye on the auctions. Things will cool down soon |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2571 Posts |
Here's an Ivory Coast 1000 Francs (P-103Ak) I won at auction recently (from 1959-1965):   |
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New Member
Australia
9 Posts |
And another thing is that the majority of the African population is poor, so do not have the ability to save and currency. And banknotes 50-60 years ago had alot more value than current issues.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2571 Posts |
Notes from Morocco & Rhodesia have always been expensive. I'm still looking for an example from Morocco. When I started collecting, you could find cheap notes from Africa (Zambia, Gambon, Gambia, Zimbabwe etc) but most have gone up in price. Here's an inexpensive 1 Pound note from Nigeria (other denoms from this country/era are fairly tough/expensive):   |
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
1556 Posts |
Are all these banknotes from Africa popular among collectors ? Are they in demand ?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2571 Posts |
All colonial African notes are in fairly high demand. These include notes from the Belgian Congo, East Africa, British West Africa, French ___, German ____, Italian _____, Mauritius (esp QEII types), Morocco, all Rhodesian (South & Nyasaland), Rwanda-Burundi, Southwest & Zanzibar (any colony I may have missed). For Nigeria, check out this BNM link which shows P-2 to P-13. http://www.banknote.ws/COLLECTION/c...ound%20IssueAll shillings & pounds (except my P-8 example- which hoards must have been discovered) are popular, expensive & in demand. There are often favourite nations, like the Seychelles, which are small & have a pretty loyal fan base for specific series (like the QEII "SCUM" or "SEX" note). Lots of early Algeria & Tunisia collectors too. Higher grade examples of these sometimes appear & bidding can get pretty crazy. Here's a Rwanda-Burundi 25 Francs. The series lasted for about 2 years.  Many of the above mentioned colonies, it may be impossible to get a high grade original example & can be pretty rare (pretty dear in price). |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5238 Posts |
African banknotes were heavily used in commerce, and the tropical environment of many of the countries are two reasons the high grade older notes can be very scarce.
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Moderator
United States
187582 Posts |
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Here's an inexpensive 1 Pound note from Nigeria (other denoms from this country/era are fairly tough/expensive): Quote:
Here's a Rwanda-Burundi 25 Francs. The series lasted for about 2 years. Nice examples!  |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2571 Posts |
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Nice examples! -Thanks jbuck! Quote:
African banknotes were heavily used in commerce, and the tropical environment of many of the countries are two reasons the high grade older notes can be very scarce. -I don't doubt it. I'm still surprised at how some notes are in such great shape & how little they cost. Whenever I get my hands on some cheap ones, I figure they must have been purchased (imported) by coin/banknote dealers years ago. Here's a cheap (reduced size) Republic of South Africa 1 Rand note (P-115b):   They're interesting series to collect since they exist in 2 language versions (English & Afrikaans) plus have 2 watermarks (Springbok & Van Riebeek). I'm sure the English versions (like mine) are more common than the Afrikaans version. |
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Moderator
United States
187582 Posts |
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Here's a cheap (reduced size) Republic of South Africa 1 Rand note (P-115b): Very nice! |
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Replies: 26 / Views: 3,200 |
Posted 04/15/2023 06:17 am
