Grading of Notes

Currency Notes are graded based on their condition. 

The grades specified by the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) are as follows 

Grade		Description
UNC	Uncirculated	A banknote that is bright and has no handling damage, such as folds or creases, nor any cuts, stains, or rounded corners
AU	About uncirculated	A banknote that is still bright but has trivial handling damage, i.e. a light centre fold (not a crease, which is a break of the fibres of the paper), without rounded corners
XF or EF	Extremely fine	a banknote with one crease or up to three light folds. Paper still bright and attractive, very slight wear to corners allowed
VF	Very Fine	Note still attractive, but possible slight dirt or smudging, may have several horizontal and/or vertical folds. Paper remains relatively crisp. No tears, but slight wear to edges and corners is allowable.
F	Fine	Paper is now slightly soft, considerable wear due to folds from use in circulation. Minor tears to note, not extending into the design. Clear but not bright in appearance. Staple holes but not holes due to folding.
VG	Very Good	Much wear. Paper is limp. Tears can extend into the design. Staining possible. Discoloration possible. Hole at center caused by folding allowable. Note still looks presentable.
G	Good	Very much wear, as VG, but more so. Graffiti on note. Small pieces of the note may be missing
	Fair	Larger pieces of note torn off/missing, compared with G. Less of the note intact
	Poor	Severe damage due to wear, staining, missing pieces, graffiti and/or holes

What is Notaphily?

Notaphily is the study of paper money or banknotes. A notaphilist is a collector of
banknotes, paper money, paper currency or plastic notes.


I have always wondered how this world would function without currency. It's quite
unimaginable to follow barter system in the 21st century.


For several centuries, coins were used to pay for the variety of items, they were an
important part of the exchange process. It is believed that paper currency was first
developed in the 7th century in China.


Notaphily is not as popular as Philately & coin collection but in recent times many people
have been showing interest in collecting currency notes.

Why this blog?

We all live such busy lives that its very tough to find time to get to know about something beyond our interests. Different people have different prejudices and perceptions about the outside world. Hobbies like Notaphily or Philately might give a person an opportunity to learn more about people of other cultures and countries. As far as creating this blog is considered, my sole objective is to bring together all possible pieces of information about a country through its currency note. After all, each note contains some images that are definitely worth to be discovered and learnt. I hope that the content of this blog will create curiosity among all of those readers who are eager to meet the world of currency notes.

The Beginning …

As a young boy, I was always very curious about different coins and currency notes. However, I never seriously collected them. For many years I was occupied with busy college life, then my job, proving myself, learning new stuff etc.
Then I started focusing on many aspects which I was interested in back in school days. Currency notes collection was one of them but I didn’t have a clue how to collect notes professionally. I wanted to buy them from my colleagues who had gone abroad. The problem was that they always had high denominations which I simply couldn’t afford.

Finally, for my 24th birthday, I received the best gift in my lifetime. It was a set of over 20 currency notes from various nations. Later on, one of my friends kept on supporting me and my collection. I also managed to buy some items from other collectors.
I decided to collect at least one currency note from every country on this planet. I also thought that doing some research on the notes I have, would be a good idea. It was supposed to concern not only the country the notes come from but also words, emblems, signatures and images which are presented on each and every one of them.

As of today, I have over 120 currency notes from about 80 countries, but it doesn’t change the fact that I still have a long way to go.