Pinholes US Currency pre-1900

coinkat

The recent post by Sellitstore got my thinking about larger questions worth asking:

Are pinholes the kiss of death?

If not, how many pinholes are too many?

I see both of these as fair questions as part of establishing what should be reasonable expectations in connection with large notes and how they were handled in the stream of commerce.

SaorAlba

When you venture into even lightly circulated 19th century notes pinholes are going to be common. Pinholes are the lesser issue, sometimes currency was placed on spindles instead of a cash drawer - spindle holes are larger.

sellitstore

For obsolete notes, multiple pinholes are common and I don't think should even be noted on holders below a grade of fine or very fine.

On large size Federal currency, they are somewhat more significant. Once we start to get into the 20th century, pinholes are less common on notes and therefore a more significant problem. But a rare note with pinholes will suffer less loss of value than common ones where unimpaired notes are readily available, at least in theory.

PreTurb

I'm relatively new to collecting obsolete notes, and the thing that surprised me when I was transferring some notes into new holders, was how incredibly thin they are (versus modern currency). It's no surprise now to me that there are occasional micro holes in these. Now, a question, as I have not handled Unc condition obsoletes - was the paper quality simply lacking, such that there are even tiny holes (gaps) in Unc notes? Or are they always a result of wear?

sellitstore

Other than Southern notes made during the Civil War period, the paper used for obsolete notes is deceptively strong, even though it is thin. It was not made with pinholes already in it but the pinholes were often created by bundling the notes together with thread, before the paper currency strap was invented in the early 20th century. I have also read (I think in auction catalogs) that the pinholes were poked in the note to confirm authenticity but I don't know how this would have worked and have observed clusters of pinholes in both genuine and counterfeit notes.

Obsolete bank note paper is usually linen- a fabric rather than paper. It is not made from trees and not very acidic so it tend to degrade much slower than more modern papers. Linen papers are still in wide use for bank notes although the polymers seem to be gaining market share and for good reason. It's a superior material for bank notes, in many respects.