WHERE TO BEGIN

There are many reasons why people collect things and, i suppose, banknotes are not that different. some people collect as an investment, to resell later, others so they can find out about other countries and their history, others for the stunning artwork you can find on notes. Whatever your reason for collecting, you must enjoy it!!

Where to start ? well that depends on YOUR reason!! I started with the simple view of ” I’m going to collect at least one banknote from every country in the world” which is a good starting point but soon you realize that countries change their names, divide up, merge, are occupied etc etc. which made it more exciting (and confusing) but has, and will always, keep me interested.

I don’t spend load of money on banknotes, so for me, getting them from the internet has been really useful, general sites like ebay or specialist sites like delcampe or collectors own sites, i find are the best.

A good idea, which i’m going to use here, is to start with your own country. maybe start with the notes circulating now and  work back as they become available. If you live in or near to a large city it may be worth contacting a museum to see if they have a collection you can see – sometimes it may not be on display but they will make an appointment to show it to you – they may know of other collectors in your are that can help. 

we are really lucky in Edinburgh -  i’ll be mentioning a few resources that you can contact as we go along.

Finally, i want to say that i am NOT an academic or expert in any way, so if you see mistakes or you have extra info or contacts, feel free to post them .

I hope you enjoy the Blog !!!!