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German banknote valuation
If you are a collector or just found some old banknotes in grand dad's drawer, the likelihood is that
you'll be interested to know the value of these notes. The first step to value paper money is to
identify a bill and its exact version.
Different versions of the same banknote can differ significantly in their value. Particularly misprints or other errors in the production of a bill can make it a very rare, sought after and valuable note. There are several features that can be used to identify the version of a German banknote.
The second dimension for the valuation of a banknote is its condition or grade. Naturally a banknote that is better maintained is more valuable than one that is creased, dirty and torn.
Once a banknote and its grade has been identified it can be looked up in a catalog or a specialist can be asked about its value.
Banknote Catalogs
The serious collector should consider buying a catalog, which provides essential details about valuing banknotes. Not only will it help him to identify the value of his collection, but it will also enable him to check, if the price is fair, when acquiring a new bill. This is, however, easier said than done.
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Inflation banknotes in high denominations have been issued in masses during 1923.
Eye witnesses told stories about people using wheelbarrows to transport their money to the shops.
Therefore most those notes
are fairly common and only very few versions of these banknotes have a high value these days
- despite the large numbers that are printed on them.
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Catalogs can help to establish an initial understanding of the value of a banknote. Valuing a banknote properly requires, however, not only a good knowledge about paper money, but also a solid understanding of the market place. For a proper valuation it is recommended to see a specialist, who will be able to feel and see the physical qualities of the note in order to decide the grading. A specialist will also know the market, which is crucial, as the market price of a banknote can differ significantly from its catalog value.
For German banknotes there are two standard catalogs that are respected throughout the collector community:
The "Standard Catalog of World Paper Money" by Shafer&Cuhaj is a catalog that covers banknotes from around the world. It has a good coverage of German banknotes (but not emergency money) and is written in English language.
A German language catalog specialised in German banknotes is "Die deutschen Banknoten ab 1871" by Rosenberg. Again it doesn't list emergency money. It has the most complete list of German bills and their versions. Most banknotes are displayed in colour, which makes this book a very pleasing experience.
See here for Catalogs on German banknotes and coins in German language.
Classifications based on catalogs are used to communicate about the versions of banknotes. Based on the Rosenberg catalog the Ro. numbers are one system, while the Pick system is another one, although there are overlaps in these classifications. The Rosenberg system is available for German banknotes only and has a finer classification (i.e. more versions are classified).
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