As a beginner who is not ready to spend lots of money initially..., what should I be looking for?
Hallco
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I would like to have some things that might not be normal or run of the mill. For those who know coins it would be the same things as saying I don't want to just add an 81-S Morgan in MS 64 or a 38-D Buffalo Nickel in MS 65. Nothing wrong with either(I have owned several of both in my life), but to a coin collector it would not be anything special. I would like a few notes that if I showed another paper money collector they would say "good choice, I really like that"! I am going to a show next month and would love some ideas. 
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I collect large size currencies in 64. I think it's similar to coins, in that you should look for eye appeal in a price that you feel comfortable paying, Greensheet should give you some ballpark figures as far as prices are concerned. It's a whole new world. Good luck and have fun, I'm sure you'll enjoy it !!!
What about paper money has caught your interest? Whether someone else will see a note of yours as a "widget", or something special, should be secondary to acquiring what interests you. I'm a hopeless generalist, so I find something special about almost any note. If you give us some ideas of what interests you (time periods, artistic movements/themes, etc.), the people here could probably point you to less "run-of-the-mill" notes that speak to those interests.
Some collectors like to collect small size experimentals.
Click on the link and scroll down to bottom of the page to learn all about them.
http://www.uspapermoney.info/serials/all___s.html
You’ll find this as a very useful and interesting website.
Thank you for asking. I completely agree with acquiring what interests you. I think there are 2 reasons. First, I have worked in finance for over 25 years and see lots of currency on a daily basis. For some reason now that I am older....it just seems right to me to look at older notes that are not in circulation anymore. Second, I started another thread explaining that in the early 2000s, I started collecting coins and met someone who had been collecting a long time. I leaned on his experience for many years. At that time(and really, until I started checking out message boards), he was the only person I knew who collected paper money. We went to many shows over about a 6 year period. I always felt that he got more satisfaction after the shows where he acquired paper than the ones he did not. And I didn't care any about it...but would always feel like there was some historical connection that he had to the paper. Now that I have come back to coins as a hobby, I wanted to branch out and thought it might be at least worth the consideration. As far as what I am thinking about collecting...a little bit of each of the categories(Large, Small, Obsoletes, Educational, Fractional,etc...I am seeing several of the designs from each that I think are nice.
Thank you! I will check it out.
Smart move and welcome to currency collecting.
Stated another way, others observed what you are saying "Rarer items appreciate faster than common ones" and conclude that putting funds into a single rare note vs buying numerous common notes will yield higher returns upon appreciation. You're already on your way to advanced collecting
I see RA has several experimentals show up, looks like a large collection of Silver Certs too
http://www.fstctycurr.com/seals_1.html
What is not "lots of money" is always in the eye of the beholder, and will significantly affect what you might choose to collect. Your goal of obtaining examples of a variety of different types of notes is a good approach when starting out - but, should still have some "theme" or "goal" in mind.
For Large size, the best choices at a reasonable price would be: $1 1899 Silver Certificate, $1 1923 SC, $1 1917 United States Note, $1 1923 USN, and $1 Federal Reserve Bank Note (the $1 1891 Treasury Note is another possibility, but a little higher priced).
You could shoot for obtaining one each of those 4 different types and perhaps even a $1 1865/1875 National Bank Note and have a great Type Set.
For Small Size, you might try the same thing, trying to get nicer examples of $5 USN, $5 SC, $5 National, $5 Federal Reserve Note and a $5 FRBN. Or, if you choose $10s, you could also add a $10 Gold Certificate (but no $10 USNs were issued).
Obsoletes, maybe try for a State Chartered "broken" Bank note (there is a great variety of colorful designs and overprints and denominations, including $3, etc.), Merchant Scrip, and a Confederate States Note (if that is of interest). Other notes with cool historical stories include Panic Scrip of 1907 and Depression Scrip and Clearing House Certificates.
Fractional, Try either one of each denomination (3, 5, 10, 15, 25 & 50 cents and/or one from each of the 5 different "Issues."
Couldn't have said it any better!
Thanks for these recommendations. I am processing the info you provided. Not lots of money to me is not spending several hundreds of dollars on notes that I know nothing about just because I like the picture on the back! Lol. As I said...I don't care about future value if I enjoy it...but I don't want to regret paying too much either.
Actually, "the picture on the back" does lend an attraction, especially some Large size with intricate Train, BattleShip, Industry, etc and actually provides a cross over point attracting collectors who like to focus on those type of things, yet find them on currency too
I guess the "picture on the back" was a bit of a giveaway as to which ones I was referring to huh?!
Astute general comment regarding research.
The Oakes/Schwartz and Lindquist/Schwartz books are great at introducing you to the varieties of small size notes (1928 series to modern date). Many of us here have been contributors after finding new notes out of known ranges, varieties, etc
THE MULE
and there are some cool and very valuable varieties
As printing proceeded the series changed. This meant new engraving plates were made for both the front and rear of the new series. It is important to note that each plate is uniquely identified with a very small serial number stamped into every note. The rub comes when the printers changed the front plate but were frugal enough to leave the rear plates to change until the old ones wore out.
This results in a front plate from one series and the rear plate from another series - a mismatch.
In the animal Kingdom the child of two different lines; A horse and a Donkey is called A Mule - we use that name to describe the mismatched currency notes
And because all plates print their serial numbers and we know how those ranges of numbers apply to different Series (Lindquist/Schwartz) then we can seek the rare notes.
Hope this helps - you don't get this historic stuff on the coin side of collecting!
just Buy What You Like, and in The Best Conditions That You Can Afford. You have to live with your purchases.
Maybe consider a rudimentary US Type Set: Colonial * Obsolete * US Treasury backed Large & Small sized. You can buy a gorgeous Gem of a 1776 Delaware colonial note due to a small hoard for not a whole lot of money, or consider a Paul Revere-engraved Massachusetts colonial note (most are within walking distance, so to speak). There are some polychrome Obsolete notes that in Gem would only set you back a few hundred... etc. And Sheets. Sheets of currency are impressive.
speaking of sheets.., just for fun we bought a 1981 uncut sheet of 32 $1.00 FRNs. We snipped off a strip of eight from the side and accordion-folded it, so only one note showed. After a regular Saturday afternoon coin auction in Boston, we repaired to our favorite haunt, where our favorite waitperson Kelli was "on shift". After our usual $40.00 tab, we left the folded notes half under a saucer for her tip. We waited around the corner... and we saw her lipsynch "********" when she noticed only the $1.00. Her face was priceless as she unfolded the piece...
yes, and we caught Holy hell from her the next week
A nice 24 note set of fractional currency will give you at a reasonable cost all of the major notes of each of the 5 series...after you are hooked, you can work on the 100s of varieties of the 24.
Welcome to the exciting world of currency collecting. Before you buy, I highly recommend this book:
https://amazon.com/Whitman-Encyclopedia-U-S-Paper-Money/dp/0794827020/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1532634954&sr=8-30&keywords=q.+david+bowers
Great suggestion....I use my edition on a daily basis. It covers 99% of everything PM.
Consider buying an 1896 US One Dollar Silver Certificate "Educational". Buy it PCGS graded in a higher circ grade. I dont think it would cost that much and it's a gorgeous note with a lot of artistry. The 1896 series is all beautiful $1, $2, $5. The $5 is the most beautiful but very expensive.
Another cool note is the 1899 Black Eagle. Also not too expensive.
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
The Black Eagle is on the list(along with about 10 others at the moment) Hoping I find one at the show next month.
Is it that different from this one:
That is the one I have been using the last couple of months
I think it has more information and goes much more in-depth.
Considering it has 900 pages I would guess so! Yikes! Lol
to "see what stuff is/is worth", I just Search Heritage's PR. Lots of information at your fingertips. It's a different education, but valuable nonetheless