A unit of measurement describing a width or thickness of 1/100 of an inch, usually referring to the thickness of metal plating on a medal or coin.
A resource for collectors
Glossary of Numismatics and Notaphily
168 coin and banknote terms: design, production, issuing, conservation, and collecting. 34 articles have their own page; the rest are anchored in this list.
Showing all 168 glossary terms.
M
A
Sheldon grades 50–58: the note or coin saw little circulation; light handling or a faint fold remains, but the design is still sharp. This collection includes, among others, PMG 50, 53, and 55 About Uncirculated.
See also: Extremely Fine (EF) , Uncirculated (UNC) , Sheldon Scale , Fold vs. crease
Areas of a coin where contact with another coin or a foreign object has physically displaced or abraded metal on its surface.
See also: Bag Marks
A random grouping of a particular date, type, or series, often denoting a monetary hoard rather than a systematic collection.
File marks made on a coin planchet before striking, used to bring its weight down to the legally prescribed standard.
See also: Coin blank , Assayer
Lines, frequently parallel, imparted to a coin's surface by the friction of a plastic slide inside a storage album.
A banknote chemically or physically modified to appear rarer, more valuable, or in better condition than it actually is.
See also: EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality)
Cleaning, tooling, dipping, or other chemical and physical modifications that mask flaws and make a coin less desirable to advanced numismatists.
A general classification for historical world coins struck from approximately 600 B.C. through the fall of antiquity around 450 A.D.
Said of a coin or medal whose design entirely lacks inscriptions, lettering, or legends.
See also: Legend
The controlled heating-and-cooling process applied to a coin die or planchet to soften the metal's structure before die preparation or striking.
See also: Planchet
An item evaluated by an expert, certified as authentic, and explicitly graded according to established industry standards.
See also: PMG / PCGS , Sheldon Scale , Slab / encapsulation , NGC
A paper fold or wrinkle created during a banknote's manufacturing, rather than from later circulation or handling.
See also: Fold vs. crease , Error note
The mint official responsible for analyzing and certifying the purity of the precious metals used in coinage.
See also: Adjustment Marks , Mint / mint mark , Escudo (gold)
B
Minor dings and surface nicks acquired by uncirculated coins as they clash against each other inside cloth transit bags at the mint.
See also: Abrasions
The lowest possible condition grade, where a coin is identifiable only by its major design type, date, or mintmark, with maximum wear. Also known as Poor (PO-1).
See also: Sheldon Scale , Mint / mint mark
A document acknowledging a debt or payment obligation to whoever physically holds it, with no named holder required.
See also: Floating debt note , Mortgage bond / certificate , Bill of exchange / libranza , Scrip
United States Treasury bureau that engraves and prints federal paper currency, postage stamps, and other securities. It grew out of signing and cutting work in the Treasury building during the Civil War; today it produces Federal Reserve Notes, historic certificates, and Giori test notes. It is not an issuing bank: it prints on behalf of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.
See also: Federal Reserve Note (FRN) , Giori test note , Intaglio printing , Friedberg catalog
A term bill of exchange, often redeemable in kind. Gran Colombia’s libranzas, engraved by Peter Maverick in New York (6, 12, 18, and 30 pesos, redeemable in Zipaquirá salt), were never issued: they survive unsigned.
See also: Bearer note , Provisional note , Signature
An alloy containing a low percentage of silver (typically under 50%), with the remainder mostly copper.
Colonial paper money authorized by a legislature to finance public spending — typically a war — without full metallic backing. Massachusetts issued the first on 10 December 1690, a direct ancestor of the 1775 Continentals.
See also: Provisional note , Legal tender
A coin struck with a core and a ring of different metals — for example nickel-silver and brass — so the colour contrast and the two-piece fit deter counterfeiting. In Colombia the 1993 500-peso piece (Law 31) is the first circulating bimetallic.
See also: Peso , Coin blank
A serial number made only of zeros and ones. This collection’s 2008 2,000-peso note is serial 10000001: both binary and a radar palindrome.
See also: Fancy serial number , Radar / palindrome note , Serial numbering
The decorative frame — usually fine geometric linework — that borders a banknote's design.
See also: Guilloche
A bundle of newly printed banknotes, typically containing 1,000 sequentially numbered pieces.
See also: Strap
A generic term for a coin that has never entered circulation, fully retaining its original frosty cartwheel or mirror-like luster without tarnish or friction.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC)
A cutting error: a wing-shaped scrap of paper remains attached to the note’s edge. In Colombian notaphily Hernández calls that piece a butterfly note (mariposa); it is neither a specimen nor a proof.
See also: Printing error , Specimen , Proof / essay , Hernández catalog (Cód.)
C
Sheldon grades 63–64: uncirculated, with centering and margins above the ordinary, but short of gem appearance. In this collection the ABNC Banco de Riohacha proofs include PMG 64 Choice Uncirculated EPQ.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC) , Gem Uncirculated (GEM UNC) , EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality) , Sheldon Scale
A translucent opening in a polymer or hybrid banknote, often bearing a silhouette or motif in optical relief.
A country or entity's official heraldic emblem, often included as a mark of institutional authenticity.
See also: Escudo (gold)
A crude gold or silver coin hammer-struck from metal poured into moulds, thinned by hammer, cut with shears, and stamped between two dies. At the colonial mints of the New Kingdom of Granada they carry mintmark N.R.; the 1621 1- and 2-escudo pieces are the first gold coins of the Americas. The same technique was used on the peninsula: this collection’s Philip II Seville 2 escudos is hammered gold on an irregular planchet, not an Indies piece.
See also: Coin blank , Reeded edge , Tejuelo (gold button)
Nickname for Colombian 50-centavo silver coins ordered in New York about 1887, with a Liberty bearing the profile of Soledad Román, wife of Rafael Núñez. The political scandal and the execution in Panama of a bandit nicknamed Cocobolo gave the name. Not the lazaretto coscoja.
The raw metal disk, also called a planchet or blank, prepared and weighed before being struck between dies.
See also: Planchet , Adjustment Marks
A note produced in limited quantity to mark an event, anniversary, or historical milestone, rather than for ordinary daily circulation.
Body created in 1909 by Carlos E. Restrepo’s government, after it revoked the Banco Central de Colombia’s exclusive right of issue, to retire depreciated paper and replace it with gold and backed notes. Hernández places that task beside state revenues. What circulated was the exchange of Waterlow’s Próceres for the American Bank Note Company edition, dated 20 July 1915. In 1922 — Law 5, Decree 165, and deed 206 at Bogotá’s Third Notary — it was authorized to overstamp treasury bonds, before the Banco de la República opened on 23 July 1923.
See also: Issuing bank / authority , Provisional note , Peso oro , Countermark
A Military Payment Certificate conversion day: classified, bases closed without notice, troops confined, and the current series exchanged for the new one in a short window. The outgoing series became worthless overnight, so neither personnel nor the black market could stockpile it.
See also: Demonetized , MPC (Military Payment Certificate)
Coin of the Colombian lazarettos (Caño del Oro, Contratación, Agua de Dios), legal only inside the sanitary cordon. The nickname — a little thing — began with the 1907 nickel 1, 5, and 10 pesos P/M. Not the 50-centavo cocobola.
See also: Exonumia , Cocobola , Legal tender
An official mark applied over an existing note or coin to revalidate it under a new authority. In July 1923 the Banco de la República overstamped Medellín gold certificates; in the Thousand Days’ War the Issue Board put the Banco Nacional’s seal on private-bank paper.
See also: Overprint , Provisional note , Handstamp
Grover C. and Clarence L. Criswell’s numbering — revised in later editions with Pierre Fricke — for Confederate States paper money, with T-prefixed type numbers (T-1 through T-72). In this collection it sits beside Pick, for example T-40 alongside P-44 on the 1862 $100.
See also: Pick number , Friedberg catalog , Grayback
D
The first federal paper of general circulation in the United States (1861–1862): Treasury $5, $10, and $20 notes, non-interest-bearing and payable on demand in coin. The U.S. Currency Education Program and the BEP agree on that primacy. Green ink on the back coined the nickname “greenback.” United States Notes of 1862 replaced them as legal tender. This case does not yet hold an example with a photograph and serial.
See also: Greenback , United States Note / Legal Tender Note , Friedberg catalog , Legal tender
Said of a note that has lost its legal-tender status and can no longer be redeemed or used as everyday payment.
See also: Legal tender
An NGC or PCGS grade that authenticates the piece and describes the wear — for example About Uncirculated — but withholds a Sheldon number because of damage (edge filing, cleaning, scratches). This collection’s 1761 Utrecht ducat is NGC AU Details (Edge Filing).
See also: NGC , About Uncirculated (AU) , Sheldon Scale , PMG / PCGS
The specific combination of an obverse die and a reverse die used to strike a particular coin variety.
The monetary unit of the United States and of countries that adopted or dollarized to it. In this collection it appears on Vietnam military payment certificates, on Canada’s polymer $5 (Frontiers series), and in the account of Ecuador’s 2000 dollarization, which replaced the sucre.
See also: Sucre , MPC (Military Payment Certificate) , Peso , Federal Reserve Note (FRN) , Silver Certificate
An ancient silver coin denomination originating in Greece, which later influenced numerous regional currencies.
A gold trade coin of European origin, struck to a stable weight and fineness. Utrecht issued it from 1586; this collection records a 1761 trade ducat slabbed by NGC.
See also: Gulden / guilder , NGC , Slab / encapsulation
E
The monetary unit of Swaziland (Eswatini); singular “Lilangeni,” plural “Emalangeni.”
A grading designation used by PMG to denote a banknote that is entirely original and has not undergone chemical, physical, or cosmetic modification.
See also: Altered Note , Uncirculated (UNC) , PMG / PCGS , Slab / encapsulation
A banknote that escaped quality control with a printing, cutting, folding, or inking error. In notaphily it is collected as a production error, not as wear from circulation.
See also: Printing error , Replacement / star note , As-made Crease
Gold unit of the Spanish monarchy and its Indies: multiples and fractions (half escudo, 1, 2, 4, 8) struck by mill or hammer. It is not the heraldic coat of arms and not the silver real. This collection records an undated Philip II Seville 2 escudos (S over D), a 1757 Madrid half escudo (assayers JB), and the 1801, 1806, and 1808 Popayán 1 escudos (P–JF).
See also: Coat of arms , Mint / mint mark , Assayer , Real , Ducat
The single currency of the euro area. The Dutch gulden became a subunit of the euro on 1 January 1999; cash circulated from 1 January 2002, and the gulden ceased to be legal tender on 27 January 2002, at 2.20371 gulden to the euro.
See also: Gulden / guilder , Legal tender , Demonetized
Numismatic-adjacent collectibles that are not legal-tender coins or notes, such as tokens or private scrip.
See also: Bearer note , Coscoja , Hard Times tokens , Scrip
A high condition grade allowing very light folds while keeping crispness and color nearly intact.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC) , About Uncirculated (AU)
F
A highly collectible serial-number pattern: radars (palindromes), binaries, solids, low numbers, repeaters, or ladders.
See also: Serial numbering , Radar / palindrome note , Binary serial , Solid serial , Ladder note , Low serial number , Repeater serial
Legal-tender paper issued by the United States Federal Reserve System since 1914, today the only federal type still placed in circulation. The seal and the district (letter and number) distinguish it from Silver Certificates or United States Notes. This collection includes, among others, Series 1934 / 1934A $10 notes from several districts, the HAWAII $10 Fr. 2303, and the HAWAII $20 Fr. 2305.
See also: Friedberg catalog , Silver Certificate , HAWAII overprint , Dollar , BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing)
A short-term debt certificate issued by a public treasury, often resulting from the conversion of prior credits, bearing no interest.
See also: Bearer note
A metallic foil stamped onto the note, often holographic, distinct from optically variable ink. On the polymer Churchill £5 the reverse patch reads BLENHEIM.
See also: Optically variable device (OVD) , Optically variable ink (OVI) , Polymer
A grading distinction: a fold bends the paper without breaking the fibers; a crease crushes the paper and leaves a permanent line that lowers the grade. An uncirculated note admits neither.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC) , As-made Crease
Brownish age spots on paper money caused by humidity, mold, or the oxidation of iron particles in the pulp. They lower the grade even when the rest of the note is otherwise clean.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC) , EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality)
Paper currency issued in denominations valued at less than one basic unit of the national monetary standard, such as cents.
See also: Demand Note , United States Note / Legal Tender Note , Friedberg catalog
A period or regime in which multiple private banks are authorized to issue their own circulating notes, absent a single central bank.
See also: Issuing bank / authority
A reference system specialized in United States banknotes, an alternative and complement to the Pick catalog.
See also: Pick number , Schwan catalog , The Banknote Book (TBB) , Haxby catalog , Criswell (Fricke) catalog , Federal Reserve Note (FRN) , Silver Certificate , United States Note / Legal Tender Note
Collectors’ nickname for the ornamental reverse of the small-size $1: a large ONE at center, crossed by ONE DOLLAR, and “ONE” in the corners. Series 1928 through 1934 Silver Certificates (Fr. 1600–1606) and the Series 1928 United States Note (Fr. 1500) carry it. Collectors contrast it with the unified Great Seal reverse of 1935. This collection records Fr. 1600, serial H86110669A, Fr. 1601, serial D00508932B, and Fr. 1500, serial A01772521A.
See also: Silver Certificate , United States Note / Legal Tender Note , Reverse , Friedberg catalog , Dollar
G
Sheldon grades 65–66 (and higher): uncirculated, with exceptional margins, colour, and originality. In this collection the Series 661 MPC $5 is slabbed PMG 66 EPQ Gem Uncirculated.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC) , Choice Uncirculated (CH UNC) , EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality) , Sheldon Scale
A trial or demonstration note produced on multi-colour intaglio presses linked to Organisation Giori / Koenig & Bauer (KBA-Giori), used to test plates, inks, and mechanics — not a circulating Pick. Collectors and the Rollins catalogue call them test notes. This collection’s uniface Lincoln Memorial example, ca. 1970s, with no serial, is of that type.
See also: Proof / essay , Uniface , BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing) , Intaglio printing , Specimen
Paper that represents gold on deposit and, while the standard holds, is redeemable in coin. In the United States, Gold Certificates (1865–1934) were Treasury issues; the public lost the right to redeem them in 1933, and Series 1928 was the last small-size type in general circulation. In Colombia, Medellín mint gold certificates were overstamped on 23 July 1923 as the Banco de la República’s first provisional notes.
See also: Silver Certificate , Provisional note , Peso oro , Friedberg catalog , Large-size (horse blanket)
Bernardo González White’s catalog (Catálogo de Billetes Banco de la República y República de Colombia, 1923–2019, 7th ed. 2019), which assigns a BG# to each BanRep date, variety, or replacement listing. It does not cover independence, free-banking, or Banco Nacional paper. Piece pages cite the BG# beside Pick and TBB; price columns are not republished.
See also: Pick number , Hernández catalog (Cód.) , The Banknote Book (TBB) , Replacement / star note
A colloquial nickname for Confederate States paper money, from the grayish tone of much of its printing, in contrast to the federal “greenback.” Wikipedia documents seven series between 1861 and 1864 totaling about $1.7 billion.
See also: Demonetized , Legal tender , Criswell (Fricke) catalog , Greenback
Nickname for United States federal paper, coined from the green-ink back of the 1861 Demand Notes. It traveled to the United States Notes — Legal Tender Notes — of 1862, which replaced them as legal tender. By contrast, Confederate paper is called a grayback. It does not describe a Silver Certificate or a modern Federal Reserve Note.
See also: Demand Note , United States Note / Legal Tender Note , Grayback , Legal tender
A biaxially oriented polypropylene polymer substrate developed with the Reserve Bank of Australia (now CCL Secure). China’s millennium 100-yuan (Pick 902) uses Guardian, with a Temple of Heaven window. It is not Tyvek.
See also: Polymer , Tyvek , Substrate , Clear window
A precision pattern of interlacing curved lines, used both decoratively and as an anti-counterfeiting device.
See also: Border / frame , Rosette
The Dutch florin or guilder: a unit of account from 1434 and legal tender in the Netherlands until 27 January 2002, when the euro replaced it. De Nederlandsche Bank issued circulating paper from 1814.
See also: Euro , Ducat , Legal tender
H
A mark applied by hand in ink onto an already-printed note — as opposed to an engraved design — to record a later event, such as an interest payment or a depository’s endorsement. This collection’s Confederate T-40 $100 carries interest-paid handstamps from Raleigh, North Carolina, dated 1864 and 1865.
See also: Countermark , Overprint
Privately struck United States tokens in copper, brass, or white metal, mainly 1832–1844, on the large-cent module, when the public hoarded federal coin after the Panic of 1837. They served as small change, political satire, and commercial advertising; today they are catalogued as exonumia (Low / Rulau). This collection records the 1834 HT-10A (Low-9B), running boar and Jackson bust, the 1837 HT-34 (Low-20), donkey and SUB TREASURY tortoise, and the John J. Adams store card, HT-181 (Low-300), circa 1835.
See also: Exonumia , Legal tender , Scrip
“HAWAII” overprint applied by the BEP in 1942–1944 to Silver Certificates and Federal Reserve Notes for the islands: brown seals and serials, and the word HAWAII on face and back, so the notes could be voided if the islands fell. This collection records the $1 Fr. 2300 (serial S40499058C), the $10 Fr. 2303 (serial L45104670B), and the $20 Fr. 2305 (serial L86654132A). It is not the North Africa yellow seal.
See also: Overprint , Silver Certificate , Federal Reserve Note (FRN) , Yellow seal (North Africa) , Notgeld / emergency money , Friedberg catalog , BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing)
James A. Haxby’s reference system (Standard Catalog of United States Obsolete Bank Notes) for pre–Civil War, state-chartered private bank paper — the so-called obsolete notes or broken banknotes — numbered by state, bank, and plate variety.
See also: Obsolete Bank Notes , Friedberg catalog , Remainder
Pedro Pablo Hernández’s compilation (Monedas y Billetes de Colombia, 8th ed. 2023, Numista L100183), with Cód. numbers for independence, free-banking, Banco Nacional, and BanRep coins and notes through 2023. It complements González White for BanRep 1923–2019. It distinguishes specimen (zeros), proof, and mariposa. Older H# citations in this case follow Numista’s concordance.
See also: Pick number , González White catalog (BG#) , Specimen , Proof / essay , Butterfly cut
A composite material combining cotton-paper layers with polymer elements or windows, aiming for plastic durability with traditional paper feel.
I
The recessed printing process — also called intaglio — that lays thick ink into engraved grooves and leaves the tactile relief of portraits and denominations, intended to deter counterfeiting.
See also: Intaglio printing , Steel/copper engraving , Offset lithography
A relief printing technique — chalcography / intaglio — where ink sits in grooves engraved into a plate, leaving a tactile texture on the finished note.
See also: Steel/copper engraving , Intaglio / chalcography , Offset lithography
Ink containing reflective particles that produces a shifting or metallic sheen when the note is tilted.
See also: Optically variable device (OVD) , Optically variable ink (OVI)
The entity — central bank, private bank, or state authority — legally empowered to put a banknote into circulation.
See also: Legal tender , Free banking , Conversion Board
J
The world’s first paper money: private Sichuan promissory notes in the late tenth century and, from 1024, the Song dynasty’s official jiaozi, sealed and serialled. It precedes the modern yuan and renminbi.
See also: Yuan / Renminbi , Serial numbering , Issuing bank / authority
K
A historical fractional coin denomination of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, traditionally representing 1/100th of a ruble.
The monetary unit of Zambia and Malawi; the name means “dawn” in several Bantu languages.
L
A serial number with perfectly sequential digits, either ascending or descending — for example 1234567 or 8765432.
See also: Fancy serial number
The United States federal format before the 1929 reduction: about 7.375 × 3.125 inches, eight notes per sheet. The BEP and the U.S. Currency Education Program place in 1929 the change to 6.14 × 2.61 inches — roughly 30 percent smaller — and to twelve notes per sheet; the printed series is 1928. Collectors call that large-size a horse blanket. This case’s Series 1917 United States Note $2, Fr. 60, serial B50400302A, is large-size.
See also: United States Note / Legal Tender Note , Friedberg catalog , National Bank Note
The status of a note or coin as compulsorily acceptable payment within a given territory.
See also: Demonetized
The primary textual inscription running along the outer edge or border of a coin or medal.
See also: Anepigraphic
The monetary unit of Romania; singular “Leu,” plural “Lei.”
A flat-plate printing technique based on the repulsion of grease and water, historically used by regional print houses to issue notes and scrip.
See also: Offset lithography
A highly sought serial generally under 100 or 1,000 — for example 0000007. The first numbers of a series often command a strong premium.
See also: Fancy serial number , Serial numbering
M
Popular nickname for the unbacked fiat peso issued by the Japanese occupation government in the Philippines (1942–1945), wrecked by hyperinflation. Treasury Victory certificates, issued on 20 October 1944 at Leyte, were meant to replace it. It is not a holding in this case: it is the context of the Victory Series No. 66 types.
See also: MPC (Military Payment Certificate) , Demonetized , Legal tender
Text printed at extremely small scale, legible only under magnification, used as an anti-counterfeiting measure.
The mint where a coin is struck, and the letter or symbol engraved that identifies it. On Philip II’s Seville 2 escudos the mark is an S over the assayer’s D; on the 1757 Madrid half escudo, a crowned M between the assayers’ initials; on the 1801, 1806, and 1808 Popayán 1 escudos, a P; on colonial Santa Fe, NR. Distinct from the assayer, who signs the metal’s fineness.
See also: Assayer , Escudo (gold) , Planchet , Cobs
A debt instrument backed by real-estate mortgages, authorized to circulate with fiduciary force under a specific legal framework.
See also: Bearer note
Dollar-denominated paper issued by the U.S. armed forces from 1946 to 1973 to pay personnel on overseas bases. It was not legal tender; a secret C-Day voided the current series. In Vietnam the circulating series were 641, 661, 681, and 692.
See also: Conversion Day , Demonetized , Schwan catalog , Planchette , Offset lithography , Mickey Mouse money
A banknote that accidentally displays mismatched printing-plate features; in small-size notes, produced when a face plate with a micro plate number is paired with a back plate showing a macro plate number.
See also: Printing error
N
United States federal paper issued from 1863 to 1935 by a chartered bank, secured by Treasury bonds deposited in Washington. It bears the town name, the charter number, and the local officers’ signatures. Friedberg groups them by First, Second, and Third Charter Period and, from 1929, by the small-size type. They are not obsolete notes: the 10 percent tax and the National Banking Act ended state-bank paper.
See also: Friedberg catalog , Obsolete Bank Notes , Large-size (horse blanket)
An engraving technique that reproduces the actual texture of a leaf or other organic object pressed into the plate. Benjamin Franklin and, later, Hall and Sellers used it on colonial paper and on Continental Currency as an anti-counterfeiting device that was hard to replicate by hand; the back of this collection’s 1779 Continental $5 carries a leaf nature print.
See also: Intaglio / chalcography , Intaglio printing , Bills of credit
Numismatic Guaranty Company: a grading service mainly for coins, which slabs pieces and assigns a Sheldon grade or a Details designation. Notofilia’s search groups PMG, PCGS, and NGC; the 1761 Utrecht ducat holds NGC certificate 4685927-012.
See also: PMG / PCGS , Slab / encapsulation , Details grade , Sheldon Scale
The branch of numismatics focused specifically on collecting paper banknotes.
See also: Numismatics
Provisional paper money issued by local governments, municipalities, or private businesses during economic crises, wars, or coin shortages. In Germany and Austria (1914–1924) it is known as Notgeld.
See also: Provisional note , Legal tender , Scrip
The discipline that studies coins, banknotes, and medals — their history, artistry, and collector value.
See also: Notaphily
O
Also called Broken Bank Notes; currency issued by private, state-chartered banks or local communities before the establishment of the Federal Reserve system.
See also: Free banking , Haxby catalog , Remainder
The front face of a banknote, usually bearing the main portrait or motif and the issuing bank's name.
See also: Reverse
Flat printing in which the image transfers from plate to rubber blanket to paper, without intaglio relief. Vietnam military payment certificates were printed in colour offset lithography, with planchettes, not intaglio.
See also: Lithography , Intaglio printing , Planchette , MPC (Military Payment Certificate)
A security feature printed with reflective inks or foils that shifts color or appearance depending on the viewing angle.
See also: Iridescent / metallic ink , Optically variable ink (OVI) , SPARK , Foil patch
A security ink that changes color with the viewing angle — for example, from green to purple. It is a printed optically variable device, distinct from holographic foils.
See also: Optically variable device (OVD) , Iridescent / metallic ink , SPARK , Foil patch
Additional text or stamp printed over an already-existing note or document to alter its value, validity, or jurisdiction.
See also: Countermark , Handstamp , HAWAII overprint
P
A historic monetary unit meaning "weight" (from the Latin pensum) that names eight national currencies still in circulation, each with its ISO code: the Argentine (ARS), Chilean (CLP), Colombian (COP), Cuban (CUP), Dominican (DOP), Mexican (MXN), Philippine piso (PHP), and Uruguayan (UYU) pesos. In Colombia Banco de la República paper was called peso oro from 1923 to 1993, to signal convertibility — lost in 1931; from 1993 the name returned to simply the peso.
See also: Real , Provisional note , Peso oro , Dollar
The name of Banco de la República paper from 1923 to 1993, signalling gold convertibility — lost in 1931. This collection’s 1, 2, 10, and 1,000 peso oro records carry that legend; from 1993 the name returned to simply the peso.
See also: Peso , Legal tender , Demonetized
The standard reference number assigned to each note in the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, used universally by collectors to identify variants.
See also: Friedberg catalog , Schwan catalog , The Banknote Book (TBB) , Haxby catalog , Criswell (Fricke) catalog , González White catalog (BG#) , Hernández catalog (Cód.)
An 8-real silver type with the Pillars of Hercules and two globes — the Old and New Worlds. At Santafé it is almost unique: the Casa de Moneda Museum’s permanent-exhibition booklet highlights the 1762 patacón.
The blank metal disk, prepared with upset rims, that is loaded into a coining press to be struck with a design.
See also: Coin blank , Planchette
A coloured disc or confetti embedded in the paper pulp as a security feature, visible in ordinary or ultraviolet light. Vietnam military payment certificates carry coloured planchettes; it is not a coin planchet or blank.
See also: Substrate , Offset lithography , MPC (Military Payment Certificate) , Planchet
The two leading third-party paper-money grading services: Paper Money Guaranty (PMG) and PCGS Banknote. They encapsulate the note and assign a numerical grade from 1 to 70, aligned with the Sheldon scale. For coins, see NGC.
See also: Sheldon Scale , EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality) , Uncirculated (UNC) , NGC , Slab / encapsulation
A plastic substrate — commonly biaxially oriented polypropylene — used in banknotes for its durability and counterfeit resistance.
See also: Substrate , Tyvek , Guardian , Clear window
An engraved likeness of a historical figure or ruler, the central element on most banknotes.
See also: Vignette
The monetary unit of the United Kingdom. The 2016 Churchill £5 is the Bank of England’s first ordinary-circulation polymer note.
A note that left the printer with an unintentional defect — off-center cut, paper fold, missing color — usually valued above a normal example. In the print shop it is also called a maculature or error note.
See also: Error note , Replacement / star note , Butterfly cut
A preliminary, non-legal-tender print used to evaluate a design, ink, or paper before the final run is approved. An essay is typically a design proposal; a proof tests a plate or color. Hernández notes that proofs do not carry zeros and are often uniface, unlike a specimen.
See also: Specimen , Intaglio printing , Butterfly cut , Uniface , Giori test note
An emergency, temporary-circulation issue produced to cover a currency shortage while a definitive issue is prepared. In Colombia, on 23 July 1923 the Banco de la República opened with Medellín mint gold certificates overstamped on the back “BANCO DE LA REPÚBLICA — BILLETE PROVISIONAL.”
See also: Floating debt note , Notgeld / emergency money , Countermark , Conversion Board
Q
The monetary unit of Guatemala, named after the country's national bird.
R
A banknote whose serial number reads the same forwards and backwards — a palindrome — for example A4567654A.
See also: Fancy serial number
An old monetary unit of the Spanish Empire, a subdivision of the peso through much of the colonial period.
See also: Peso
A ridged or lettered edge on a coin, applied to prevent clipping. At Santafé the 1756 screw presses made the first round reeded pieces, against the hammered cobs.
See also: Cobs , Coin blank
A printed note that never circulated: it is typically missing one or both manuscript signatures, the completed year, or the serial. Distinct from a specimen and from a proof; on United States obsolete notes (Haxby) it is the state most often seen.
See also: Obsolete Bank Notes , Specimen , Proof / essay , Haxby catalog
A serial number in which a short block repeats — for example 12121212 or 12312312 — or a two-block repeat (12341234). It is a fancy-serial class, distinct from a radar and from a ladder.
See also: Fancy serial number , Radar / palindrome note , Ladder note
A banknote printed to replace a faulty note pulled during manufacture. It is identified by a star beside the serial number or by a reserved letter prefix — such as Z on several issues. This collection’s 1994 Emberá 10,000-peso notes are serials 00113227 and 00249902, each with a star.
See also: Printing error , Error note , Serial numbering
The back face of a banknote, typically showing a building, landscape, or secondary scene.
See also: Obverse
The monetary unit of Malaysia and, under the same historical name, of Brunei.
A circular geometric motif, often with the numeral value at its center, common on 19th-century private-bank notes.
See also: Guilloche
S
Frederick J. Schwan’s numbering (with Joseph E. Boling) for military payment certificates and occupation paper. On this collection’s Vietnam records the Schwan number sits beside Pick M — for example Schwan 887-1 for the Series 641 $10.
See also: MPC (Military Payment Certificate) , Pick number , Friedberg catalog
Substitute paper or token currency issued by a business, chamber of commerce, employer, or community for limited, time-bound use — for example a jubilee or a local emergency — rather than by a central bank. The 1933 Baraboo Golden Jubilee scrip is of this kind.
See also: Notgeld / emergency money , Bearer note , Exonumia
The study and collecting of historical financial securities, specifically stock certificates, bonds, and share warrants.
See also: Numismatics , Notaphily
A strip or filament embedded in the note's substrate, either visible or with exposed windows, used to deter counterfeiting.
See also: Substrate
A security design in which elements printed on both sides of the note align exactly when held up to light.
See also: Watermark
The unique digits — sometimes with a letter prefix — stamped on a note for individual tracking and identification.
See also: Series , Fancy serial number
In notaphily this can mean either the print run tied to an issue date or the letter prefix of the serial number; the exact sense depends on context.
See also: Serial numbering
The standard 70-point numerical system used in numismatics to grade the physical wear and preservation state of a coin.
See also: Uncirculated (UNC) , About Uncirculated (AU) , PMG / PCGS
The printed signature of an authorizing official (governor, finance minister, etc.) that validates the note's issuance.
See also: Issuing bank / authority
United States federal paper, issued from 1878, payable in Treasury silver. In small size the Series 1928 $1 (Fr. 1600) and the Series 1928A $1 (Fr. 1601) carry the Funnyback reverse; in the Second World War the same class received the HAWAII overprint and, in another issue, the North Africa yellow seal. The 1896 Educational Series belongs to this class, not to Treasury Notes. It is not a Federal Reserve Note or a United States Note.
See also: Funnyback , HAWAII overprint , Yellow seal (North Africa) , Federal Reserve Note (FRN) , Friedberg catalog , BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing) , Gold Certificate , Treasury Note / Coin Note
A sealed plastic holder from a grading service (PMG, PCGS, NGC) that keeps the piece with its grade label and certificate number. In this collection’s records “unslabbed” means the example is shown in a sleeve, without a third-party capsule.
See also: PMG / PCGS , NGC , Appraised
A serial number made entirely of the same repeating digit — for example 8888888.
See also: Fancy serial number
A note or certificate issued by a federal state with its own fiscal autonomy within a federated republic, rather than by the central government.
See also: Free banking
SICPA’s optically variable magnetic security ink: tilting the note shifts colour and shows a motion effect. On this collection’s 2017 20,000-peso note the sugar-apple (anón) on the face is a SPARK motif.
See also: Optically variable ink (OVI) , Optically variable device (OVD) , Iridescent / metallic ink
A sample note distributed to central banks and law enforcement to familiarize them with a new design. It usually bears perforated or stamped SPECIMEN text and all-zero serials (e.g. 0000000), and never enters circulation. In Hernández’s catalog, zeros distinguish a specimen from a proof.
See also: Issuing bank / authority , Proof / essay , Butterfly cut , Remainder , Uniface , Giori test note
A hand-engraving technique on a steel or copper plate, used to produce highly detailed portraits and vignettes on classic banknotes.
See also: Intaglio printing , Vignette , Intaglio / chalcography
A paper band used to bundle exactly 100 banknotes of the same denomination.
See also: Brick
The base material a banknote is printed on: cotton paper, pure polymer, or a hybrid combination of both.
See also: Polymer , Hybrid substrate
Ecuador’s monetary unit from the law of 22 March 1884 until dollarization in 2000. It is named for Marshal Antonio José de Sucre. Private houses issued the paper first; the state monopoly came in 1927.
See also: Dollar , Issuing bank / authority , Peso
T
The monetary unit of Samoa, derived from the German term “Thaler.”
A button or cake of gold solidified in a crucible, one of the forms in which metal was traded in the New Kingdom of Granada before a mint existed. Together with bars and gold dust, it complicated payments until Turrillo began striking in 1621.
See also: Cobs
The monetary unit of Kazakhstan since 1993.
Owen W. Linzmayer’s catalog, which gives each type a B number (TBB or BNB). This collection cites it beside Pick — for example TBB B996c on the 2017 20,000 pesos, BNB B149a on the Malaysian RM5, and B203a on the Churchill £5.
See also: Pick number , Friedberg catalog , Schwan catalog , González White catalog (BG#) , Hernández catalog (Cód.)
Natural coloration that forms on a coin's surface over time due to chemical reactions with air and storage materials.
United States Treasury paper authorized by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act: the bearer redeemed it in coin — gold or silver, at the Treasury’s choice. The series are 1890 and 1891. Friedberg gives them the Treasury or Coin Notes chapter. The 1896 Educational Series is a Silver Certificate issue, not this class. This case does not yet hold an example with a photograph and serial.
See also: Silver Certificate , Friedberg catalog , Legal tender
A synthetic non-woven material used experimentally in some of the earliest plastic banknote issues of the 1980s.
U
The highest condition grade: a pristine note with no signs of handling, sharp corners, no folds or creases, and its original press crispness.
See also: Fold vs. crease , EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality) , PMG / PCGS , About Uncirculated (AU) , Choice Uncirculated (CH UNC) , Gem Uncirculated (GEM UNC) , Slab / encapsulation
Said of a note, proof, or specimen printed on only one side, with a blank reverse. This collection’s Giori Lincoln Memorial test note is uniface.
See also: Obverse , Reverse , Proof / essay , Specimen , Giori test note
Federal legal-tender paper authorized on 25 February 1862, also called a Legal Tender Note or greenback. It replaced Demand Notes; a red seal and red serials mark the type. The last BEP delivery to the Treasury was in 1971; none have been placed in circulation since 21 January 1971. Outstanding notes remain redeemable at face. This case records the Series 1917 $2, Fr. 60 (P#188(4)), Speelman–White signatures, serial B50400302A, a large-size note, and the small-size Series 1928 $1, Fr. 1500 (P#377), Woods–Woodin signatures, serial A01772521A.
See also: Demand Note , Greenback , Friedberg catalog , Legal tender , Large-size (horse blanket)
Ink invisible in normal light that glows under ultraviolet light, used to help verify a note's authenticity.
V
An engraved or printed illustration — a portrait, scene, or motif — occupying a defined area of a banknote's design.
See also: Portrait , Steel/copper engraving
W
An image or pattern embedded in the paper or substrate, visible mainly when held up to light, used as a security measure.
See also: See-through register
Experimental currency produced by the BEP between 1992 and 1995 using a continuous roll-fed web intaglio press instead of flat sheets, identifiable by relocated plate-numbering positions.
See also: Intaglio printing , BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing)
Y
United States Series 1935A Silver Certificate with a yellow Treasury seal, issued for the North Africa theater in the Second World War: if it fell into enemy hands, the Treasury could declare it worthless. It shares the emergency logic of the HAWAII overprint, but the diagnostic is seal colour, not an overprint. This collection records the $1 Fr. 2306, serial B52497547C, B–C block.
See also: Silver Certificate , HAWAII overprint , Notgeld / emergency money , Friedberg catalog , BEP (Bureau of Engraving and Printing)
The renminbi (人民币) is the currency of the People’s Republic of China, issued by the People’s Bank of China from 1948; the yuan is its unit. This collection covers the five paper series and the polymer commemoratives (millennium 100-yuan, 2022 20-yuan).
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Terms marked as suggested complement the vocabulary already used in the catalog with standard words from international collecting.