How do you price graded World Banknotes?
Cougar1978
Posts: 8,217 ✭✭✭✭✭
Curious about methodology pricing graded World Banknotes especially low and top pop. Do you use a matrix for grade, pop rarity etc. Or some other method. Lets say Krause CV for a note in raw Unc is $200. But you have a TPG note that is graded 65 PPQ with pop 1/0. You won it in auction for $85. Do you just slap on some arbitrary amount like $500? How would you price it for your inventory (shows) or online.
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First, I would not use Krause CV to price any world note. It has not been updated for several years and even when it was, it was suspect. I would subscribe to the Banknote Book.
Most world note collectors are not going to care about a top pop note, especially not one that catalogs that low, as there are probably many others that are raw in the same condition that they will be able to get for less than the $85.00 you paid at an auction for a graded example.
A graded 67 top pop note is worth more than just a raw Unc. If somebody were quote me some low ball price on a graded note at my table at a show I just would ask them if they have one (note like mine) sell me at that.
What I am working on is to fine tune my pricing method which combines pop rarity and certified grade.
It's really tough for me but I just try to be conservative & use Krause as the most liberal of guides (ie: don't take them/their publication too seriously). @vonlettow is correct - they haven't been updated for years & many of their figures seem suspect & quite inaccurate. When I started collecting World currency & bought a few odd TPG notes, I realized I had paid a lot for them. I stopped bidding on these TPG notes & just figured that it would go much easier on my pocketbook if I got to know the "lay of the land" & focus on ungraded low valued notes first. This gave me about a year (or 2) to sort of figure out what was what (expensive) vs (inexpensive). While I tended to gravitate towards the less expensive (dealer stock crap) I finally got familiar to what was popular (like colonial versions of independent nations), in demand & slowly "got up to speed." It took a lot of time but I feel much more comfortable than I did when I started. I have seen a lot of bidding wars (& plain stupidity) on many auction sites & can safely say I avoided that.
I also agree with @vonlettow in that Banknotebook or Track & Price would be the best (easiest/most expedient) path/bet to follow but I've been super cheap & have just been patient by surveying eBay realized prices. I have enjoyed following many auction platforms & have educated myself a lot on what's hot and what's NOT.
It's been a long, slow learning curve but I'm okay with that & have learned a good deal (I think).
One thing GREAT about World currency is that it seems to still be a LOT CHEAPER than most US or CDN currency.
**https://sites.google.com/view/notaphilycculture/collecting-banknotes **
Yes WPM is a new frontier cheaper than many other venues.
It's a pretty new hobby as far as hobbies go.
I'm always amazed how so many collectors on social media (reddit, IG, etc) post images of these tattered rags (or just super common circulated notes). Some are inherited I suppose (& few are uncommon/tough). A lot are being purchased at flea markets (or LCS). A lot of people are just into hoarding as much paper for as little $ as possible.
I just can't wrap my head around some of the posts "Spent $40 on the lot: Good deal?" [NO! they were printed in the millions so they're mostly crap with a damaged coin b/c the seller/dealer felt bad! Now just try to sell it!] Even during this time of high inflation, UNC world notes are out there which are pretty cheap (in comparison to a lot of other nations). One simply needs to know what to buy (have some direction/ perhaps a collector's goal). Collectors need to educate themselves & these days - with all the online sites- it's not that hard to do.
**https://sites.google.com/view/notaphilycculture/collecting-banknotes **
I don't as a rule sell banknotes with fixed prices, but rather usually auction them. That said, I have seen certified banknotes fetch higher prices than they otherwise would, particularly in certain 'hot' series before the 1950s (e.g. Chinese, some Middle-Eastern). In addition to the resources others have noted looking into completed auctions helps - major auction houses with the caveat that you may not have the same size audience - and online dealer lists.
Yes Pre 1950 WPM an exciting area of material for me send in for grading (nice gem ones).
My top pop world banknotes did well at central states as people recognizing how scarce this really material is.
I do believe 67 graded world notes worth at least 2x 65 value. And then 65 graded likely worth 2x raw value (WPM) catalog. For really scarce notes these parameters can be really more. It’s like gravity where your velocity in towards gravitation pull increases exponentially. Definitely a fantastic opportunity in graded WPM exists.
Here's what I have observed:
**https://sites.google.com/view/notaphilycculture/collecting-banknotes **