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As for US paper I'm looking at silver certificates (for their educational purpose) and old greenbacks. As you can imagine, I don't have the largest budget, so I'm looking for something nice for the amount I spend ($20-35?). How much of a jump should I expect between grades, and what grades should I avoid altogether?
I agree with everything that Money just said, and I also agree that silver certificates would be an excellent choice as well. Color is the aspect of a note that catches my eye first, and I am sure that you have seen U.S. one dollar bills in a variety of colors with regard to seals and serial numbers; green, blue, brown, red, yellow, and gold. Silver certificates come in brown and yellow, but most of them were printed in blue.
My favorite silver certificate type is the 1934 $1 note. (It is also my favorite small sized note). The reason for this is the large blue "1" on the left side of the note that is quite eye catching. The 1934 $1 note was a one year type, but was printed in large quantity with a block range of AA, AB, AC, AD, AE, AF, and AG, so they remain quite plentiful and easy to find.
The 1934 blue, the 1935A yellow, the 1935A brown $1 silver certificates, and the 1928 red $1 United States Note remain the only one year notes, and it may be that this attributes to their popularity. Both the 1928 red and earlier silver certificates came in the form of what is called today the 'funnyhack' reverse. The 1934 silver certificate was the last of the funnybacks. This too might add to the popularity of this note.
All of these notes can get rather pricey in higher grades, but you should be able to find the 1934 blue in EF (as is good enough for Money who has even higher standards than I do) for about the $25-$35 range that you mention. If you wish to retain this level of condition for the other notes I mention, you may have to save up for a few weeks, but the end result would be well worth the wait. Don't rush into anything, all of the small size notes are quite plentiful, take your time, the right note for you will pop up when you least expect it, and you will want the funds available when the opportunity arises.
Here is a picture of a 1934 silver certificate in the grade that Money mentioned.....just look at that beg blue "1"....(you won't find it on any other small size note).
Posted 09/13/2010 10:10 am
