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Paper money grading and abbreviations
OUR RELATED SITES:
GRADING:
- UN (Uncirculated) - A perfectly preserved note with crisp clean paper and sharp square corners.
- AU (About Uncirculated) - An almost perfect note with only very minor handling. May have a bank counting fold at a corner or one light fold through the center. A note in this condition cannot be creased, a crease being a hard fold which has "broken" the surface of the note. Paper is clean and corners are not rounded.
- XF (Extremely Fine) - A very attractive note with only light handling. May have a maximum of three light folds or one strong crease. Paper is clean and corners may show only the slightest evidence of rounding. There may also be the slightest sign of wear where a fold meets the edge.
- VF (Very Fine) - An attractive note, but with more evidence of handling and wear. May have several folds both vertically and horizontally. Paper may have minimal dirt but is still relatively crisp and not floppy. There are no tears into the border area, but may show slight wear. Corners also show wear but not full rounding.
- F (Fine) - A note which shows considerable circulation, but is still on the desirable side. Has many folds, creases and wrinkling. Paper is not excessively dirty but may have some softness. Edges may also show much handling, with minor tears into the border area but not extending into the design. There will be no center hole because of excessive folding. A staple hole or two may also be present.
- VG (Very Good) - A well used and abused note, but still intact with no pieces missing. Corners may have much wear and rounding with tiny nicks and tears that may extend into the design. Paper may have some discoloration or staining and a small hole may also be seen at center from excessive folding. Staple and pinholes are usually present, and the note itself is quite limp. Overall, a note in this condition is not necessarily unattractive.
- G (Good) - A well used and heavily circulated note. Normal damage from prolonged circulation will include strong multiple folds and creases, stains, pinholes and/or staple holes, dirt, discoloration, edge tears, center hole from excessive folding and rounded corners. No large pieces of the note may be missing and graffiti may be present. Overall, an unattractive appearance.
- P (Poor) - A note with severe damage because of wear, staining, pieces missing, graffiti and larger holes. May have tape holding pieces of the note together and trimming may have taken place to remove rough edges. A note in this condition is only desirable as a filler or when no other note of this particular issue is available.
ABBREVIATIONS:
- AMC - Allied Military Currency
- canc - canceled
- coun - counterfeit
- comm - commemorative
- JIM - Japanese Military Currency
- Mio - million(1.000.000)
- Mrd - milliard(1.000.000.000)
- Bio - billion(1.000.000.000.000)
- NL - not listed
- ND - no date
- ovpt - overprint
- POW - prisoners of the war
- perf -perforation
- p/h - pin holes
- QEII - Queen Elizabeth II
- sign - signature
- spec - specimen
- SYS -Sun Yat Sen
- rema -remainder
- TC -Travelers check
- unfi - unfinished
- unpt - under print(background)
- w/ - with
- w/o -with out
- wmk - watermark
- ww1 - world war 1
- ww2 - world war 2
- # -number
PRINTERS:
- ABNC -American Bank Note Co.
- BABC -British American Bank Note Co
- BWC -Bradbury, Wilkinson &Co
- CBN -Canadian Bank Note Co
- CdM -Casa de Moeda
- CHB -Chung Hua Book
- CPF -Central Print Factory
- G&D -Giesecke &Devrient
- IBNC -International Bank Note Co
- SBN -Security Bank Note Co
- TDLR -Thomas De La Rue
- UPP -United Publishers &Printers
- USBN -U.S. Banknote
- W&S -Waterlow &Sons
We are always looking to buy collections or better individual banknotes.
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