help with identification of this currency.

JustGotRipped

I have no idea what these are or if they have any value. My mother found them, and asked my to help her figure that out. They sure are old though. The dates (which are tough to see with poor images) are 1914-1917. The canadian piece is 1900.

What can you tell me?

theboz11

Might have a little better luck on the Currency forum, but welcome the forum anyhow.

goossen

Banknotes # 1, 2, 3 and 5 are from Germany.
I'm not into notes but in this website you may find more info about them.

Udo

The three above and the one below left are German, but that's all I can say.

ooops, goossen was faster

spoon

Hi, normally we encourage newbies to hunt down a copy of Krause's Standard Catalog of World Coins, but since you're trying to ID banknotes, the reference would be Krause's Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, also called Pick, and in the case of these old notes you would be looking for Volume 2 (of 3). A good library or bookstore would have one you could browse.

A quick and incomplete breakdown of what you have (a little Googling and a browse through Pick should fill in the rest):

The four German notes are all State Loan Currency Notes (marked in old german script, Darlehenskassenschein--the S's look like F's). They were issued during WWI and a short time thereafter.

The one mark notes both look like they may be Pick-51 (catalog number), which was actually printed in 1917 despite the 1914 date and is distinguished by a light brown background. If it doesn't have the light brown background and is instead on white paper (however dirty) then it is P-50, printed in 1914. Either way, both versions are fairly common and worth no more than a dollar in that condition--even in perfect condition they'd be worth maybe $3.

The red one, the two mark is the same deal: common, not worth much, but interesting and collectable. It is P-54, printed in 1917, despite the date.

The blue 5 mark is P-56 and is actually from the year it says it is. Worth a dollar or so in that condition.


The Canadian note is fractional currency (fraction of a dollar) and is sometimes referred to as a shinplaster. It is Canada P-9, printed by the American Bank Note Company, worth 5-10 dollars in that condition, maybe more if you're lucky.

The final note you're gonna have to do some research on... I don't know. It's notgeld from France, you can narrow it down to the area of Bethune, it was issued by a company of some sort, probably a mining company? I don't know. It likely dates from just after WWI when national money became worthless and everyone issued their own.

JustGotRipped

thank you for the 411

the french one is tough to find info on, any suggestions on where to start?