Banknote Blog

Grading Guide · Numismatic Reference · Updated September 2026 Banknote Grading Scale Explained: What VF, XF, AU, and UNC Mean Every dealer listing, auction lot, and grading label uses the same short alphabet: G, VG, F, VF, XF, AU, UNC. Here is what each grade means in plain terms, how the letters map to the 70-point numbers on a PMG or PCGS holder, and how to grade a note in your own hands before you pay for someone else's opinion. Quick answer: Banknote grades run from Poor (a d …

Collector's Guide · Yugoslavia · Hyperinflation Notes The Yugoslavia 500 Billion Dinara Note (1993): A Collector's Guide to P-137 The largest denomination Yugoslavia ever printed carries a children's poet on its face and the second-worst hyperinflation in recorded history in its story. Here is what the 500 billion dinara note is, how it came to exist, and what separates an ordinary example from a great one. Quick answer: The 500,000,000,000 dinara note (Pick 137) was issued by th …

Grading Guide · PMG · PCGS Banknote PMG vs. PCGS Banknote Grading: Which Holder Should You Buy? Two grading services certify the world's paper money, and both are trustworthy. The differences are in market share, designations, and what a single grade point does to price. Here is how PMG and PCGS Banknote compare, with real examples from the same notes in both holders. Quick answer: PMG (Paper Money Guaranty, founded 2005, Sarasota, Florida) and PCGS Banknote (relaunched 2020 unde …

Market Reference · July 2026 · 8 min read Rare U.S. Banknotes Are on a Tear in 2026: Inside the Records That Just Fell at Auction A single $100 bill sold for $180,000. A $500 Gold Certificate brought $204,000. One spring sale made nearly $3.6 million — and it says something important about where the paper-money market is headed. Quick Answer At its Spring 2026 Showcase U.S. Currency Sale, Stack’s Bowers Galleries realized nearly $3.6 million and set numerous auction r …

The Iraqi Dinar: A Collector’s Guide to the Banknotes of Mesopotamia History, Designs, Security Features & What Makes These Notes Unique Very few nations on Earth can claim over 5,000 years of continuous civilization. Iraq is one of them. The land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers — ancient Mesopotamia — gave humanity its first writing system, its first codified laws, and its first cities. That history lives on in an unexpected place: Iraqi dinar banknotes. The moder …