January 2025 Greensheet Market Analysis: World Paper Money Reaching New Heights

I’ve written in these pages previously about the performance and growth of world paper market, and recently there was another milestone in this field that is worthy of analysis. Twenty-five years ago I was trying to go from a novice to a more advanced collector and researcher of world paper money, and I discovered the Spink auctions, which were among the first world paper money dedicated sales held anywhere. As time went on and the market grew, more and more auction companies began to hold dedicated world paper money sales, rather than combining those lots with other categories, such as world coins. I will always remember waiting through a world coin sale for the handful of banknote lots at the very end.

Fortunately for banknote collectors, those days are long in the past. Rare and important notes have brought prices that twenty years ago would have been very far-fetched. When notes first began to get into the six-figure price stratosphere, it was really news. In 2015 Stack’s Bowers sold a $10 note dated 1863 issued in Hong Kong by the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, & China (B302a) for $101,575, while in 2023 Heritage sold a unique Thai 1,000 Baht Printer’s Model Prototype for $102,000. To date, the most valuable lot sold by Stack’s Bowers is $432,000 for a group of four People’s Bank of China 10 yuan with consecutive serial numbers (B4084a), which took place in October 2023. On the Heritage side, the most valuable world paper lot is $336,000 for a set of four Zanzibar Government presentation proofs sold in November 2022. Thus, when reviewing a recent auction held in Prague imagine my surprise when I realized that a very rare 1919 5,000 Korun note issued by the Republika Ceskoslovenska (B115a) realized 25,680,000 Czech koruna (CZK), which is equivalent to $1.078 million! The auction firm of Bankovky sold the note, which is one of two known in existence and it was certified by PMG, grading VF30. The rarity of this note is attributed to the fact that it had a high contemporary face value and was found to be easily counterfeited. Thus, it was quickly withdrawn from circulation. A further five banknotes sold for more than 1,000,000 CZK, which is roughly $42,000. The second-highest lot, at the equivalent of $110,864 was an 1824 5 Zlotych note issued by the Kingdom of Poland. There were many other very strong prices in this sale, mostly centered around pieces from central and eastern Europe. I immediately reached out to colleagues to get their thoughts on what drove the prices in this particular sale to such heights, and there was no single consensus. While there were a great many scarce notes in the sale, it takes a group of dedicated bidders to push a sale where lot after lot brings a strong price. There is certainly the aspect that these rare and historical pieces are increasingly considered safe investments, and a way to reduce exposure to negative fluctuations in domestic currencies. A piece could be purchased in one’s native currency and later resold in British pounds or U.S. dollars, taking advantage of exchange rates. It is also a fact that the collecting of paper money is more fervent in certain parts of the world as opposed to coins, while other regions prefer coins when it comes to high value pieces. Whatever the reasons, it is certainly exciting to see rare paper money achieving these prices, and the knock-on effect should be felt in the market going forward.

I am excited to share some company—and industry news—that Whitman Brands has acquired the titles of the Coin and Currency Institute, which includes Paper Money of the United States, commonly known as the Friedberg book. This landmark reference created the numbering system for United States paper money that is universally used today. The book was originally written by Robert Friedberg and has been under the stewardship of Arthur and Ira Friedberg over the past few decades. Other paper money-related titles are included, such as A Collector’s Guide to Postage & Fractional Currency, United States Paper Money Errors, and POW Money in the United States. Coin-related titles include the well-known reference Gold Coins of the World. As with previous acquisitions, we will aim to preserve the great work of authors past and make incremental improvements over time, primarily on the technological front. Art Friedberg is a very well-respected and knowledgeable numismatist and we look forward to continued collaboration.