Why I Collect

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

Money collecting is a hobby that I really enjoy and part of that enjoyment comes from sharing it with others and the comraderie it builds. It's not so much the financial returns that one can achieve from it (by the way, I'm not a dealer) but for me it's the thrill of the hunt and the study of banknotes that I find rewarding.

I've also gotten a lot of young people interested in collecting (coins more than banknotes) but a few have been putting together nice foreign banknote collections that are very inexpensive but fun for them. Eventually they may progress to become Canadian or U.S. note collectors. To see the excitement they get from receiving a note from a foreign country or one that's over a hundred years old and to hear them tell me everything they've learned about it is really fascinating.

I like to share my experiences and to hear the stories from other collectors.

I'll agree that there are times to be careful in what you divulge and to whom especially if you're amassing high dollar items, that is only being sensible.

Sharing knowledge and teaching, to me, is what is important and if I can use my hobby to do that, all the better.

But then, that's just my take on it.

I find your post refreshing Ikandiggit.

For myself I started to collect so that I can have something do to with my father. As a kid I used to watch him build his coin collection and I can remember going to various spots around town looking for coins one being Simpson Sears at the St-Laurent shopping center in Ottawa.

About 4 years ago I started to get interested in Banknotes and my dad gave me one of his 1937 Banknote sets and that was it, I was hooked. Very shortly after I thought I came up with the best plan ever which was to get Uncirculated notes from the bank and then my bricking adventures began. I honestly thought for a full year that I was the only one to come up with such a plan until I stumbled on this site. Lol

Since then I’ve found myself very much interested in bricking and when my dads in town I will bring him along with me which he just loves. I’ve assembled many notes for him along the way and he just can’t get enough radars! I’ve met many people and have found that many advanced and avid collectors to be very helpful and always willing to help.

So much to learn and with new things constantly surfacing keeps the hunt alive and my relationship with my father has also grown.


My 2 Cents 
MG

I started collecting back in the 1980's just after the one dollar bill was retired. It is always interesting what one can find at the bank machine.  I am a big collector of Replacment, test, Changeover/shortrun prefix. Its a great hobby! 

Very nice post. I started collecting in the mid-90's when I stumbled upon a 1973 $1 bill after a long time. Then I just had to get the $2, the $5, etc.

Now I have almost all but the rarest of Canadian notes.

Unfortunately, with the coming of TPG's and "some" dealers' ways of doing business, lots of new collectors come in this hobby thinking it's a gold mine that they are going to suck out of enormeous amounts of money. This one kid ask for scans of a whole bunch of notes (worth thousands a piece) and then made me an offer on the cheapest one that was a fraction of the value (really, a fraction, like 1/4). His argument: He doesn't have any money. But everytime I post something in the trading forum, he asks me for scans. I just go on and ignore him. Then he asks me if I'm looking for a 1887 $2 note, a 1924 $5, etc. Why? So he could look for them and resell them to me? lol

...This one kid ask for scans of a whole bunch of notes (worth thousands a piece) and then made me an offer on the cheapest one that was a fraction of the value (really, a fraction, like 1/4). His argument: He doesn't have any money. But everytime I post something in the trading forum, he asks me for scans. I just go on and ignore him. Then he asks me if I'm looking for a 1887 $2 note, a 1924 $5, etc. Why? So he could look for them and resell them to me? lol

It's looks like you had an easy time deciphering that person's true intentions.  They should all be that easy to spot.  Recently, I was running an online listing for an older series Unc replacement note that catalogues several hundred dollars, and I had this one buyer solicit me.  He said he wants to buy the note for his daughter and he offered $120.  I wasn't going to fall for that excuse about the daughter, but the guy also felt the need to tell me that he's not a reseller.  Why would he mention that bit of information without being prompted?  You get the drift.

Are the last 2 posts really the reasons why you collect? I'm not sure how or why the thread took such turn. I believe a new thread would be more appropriate.

Are the last 2 posts really the reasons why you collect? I'm not sure how or why the thread took such turn. I believe a new thread would be more appropriate.

Who are you talking about? I don't see any "reasons" in the last 2 posts. Just the reasons of some people for getting into this hobby.

I got my first note in 1985 - it was 1937 $1, it was $5 probably a VF and probably over priced at the time. I bought it because I thought it looked neat and I never had seen one before. 

Of course like every other new collector you started to collect quantity over quality for the next two or three years and I ended up upgrading my collection during 90/91 recession when prices were going down. Remember some Dominion of Canada $4 s and $5 Train notes or 1935 series notes in VF to EF condition I paid for a few hundred dollars at Torex Auctions, I remember thinking I was crazy and this hobby certainly was not an investment it seemed like nobody was collecting paper.  Needless to say 20 years later I've been pleasantly surprised

I collected because I wanted too, I always enjoyed reviewing the auction catalogues to acquire a few pieces for my collection or bourse at coin show.  The best part about collecting is to acquire that one piece you have been searching for years in the exact condition that you want,  which you see in a dealer's inventory or an auction catalogue, then try to get the best deal you can. 

It's all part of the fun of collecting.

I thought I would make my first post here to introduce myself. I am from Nova Scotia although I have lived in Memphis, Tennessee for the last 13 years. I only recently started collecting although when I was a kid in the 70's I had a few centennial bills and silver dollars - which I believe I traded with my older sister for some spending cash to buy a bicycle!  I have a 10 year old son and to help keep him in touch with his Canadian heritage, I got him started on a Canadian stamp collection a couple years ago. Well that amassed into quite a collection where we are only about a dozen short (the real high dollar ones!) of every stamp from 1851-1980.

On our annual trip to Canada this year, we stopped at TD branch to withdraw some cash and we got some nice crispy Journey Series bills. Usually I had just used plastic on the trips, but the banks here in the U.S. started charging foreign transaction fees. He (and I) liked the Canadian money since it is more artful than the drab U.S. currency. After getting back in the U.S., I thought it would be nice to build a collection of Canadian bills.

I did some research, (this site is a wealth of information  - thank you!), bought a Charlton's catalogue, and jumped in.  We now have 27 bills, mostly the 1954 and multicolour series and a few of the newer ones. My personal favorite is the 1975 $50, although I am partial to the 1975 $100 and 1954 $50 for the Nova Scotia scenes. It is fun, plus I have really only "spent" the difference between the cost and face value, and that difference will likely hold its value. I think I am getting hooked!