A theme for your papermoney collection

A banknote collection is an expression of its owner’s personal tastes and interests. There are no set rules regarding collecting themes; you can be as individualistic as you like. Some collectors specialize in notes from one country only – often their own. Some collect from groups of countries; British Commonwealth, Europe, or Africa, for example. Others collect notes from one period in history – WW2 for example. Others collect notes with some rare peculiarity, like those with printer’s errors. Some collect forgeries. The scope is limited only by your imagination. Many collectors start out just buying anything that happens to appeal. Some prefer to be more specialised. A specialised collection does have a unique appeal and can often be sold for more than the combined values of its individual components. However, the pitfall of becoming too specialised is that suitable material will be increasingly hard to find. But why not compile a specialised collection while simultaneously building a more general, free-style one? For more suggestions on thematic collecting see our Collecting Tips sheet No. 10 (free on request with orders totalling $40 or more).