wondering what premium would you put on a perfect set of four consecutive 1954 banknotes??these bills look like art.......RC'S for sure this set is worth 600.00 or 750.00
R_N: you should be careful of your assumptions:
Catalogues give you an indication of the
highest price a collector will likely pay if they truly wish to obtain that particular note(s). Also many collectors assume that consecutives are super rare and sought after by every collector. This has proven not to be the case (unless the notes are indeed rare). More often than not-- I've seen consecutives go for a discount.
Often BOOK VALUE estimates are
on the high side for regular issued notes (R/C and U/S) yet more accurate and quite often
conservative for asterisk notes (eg *V/S). Notes have been sold continuously online for quite some time now and as collectors -- we've seen the market become flooded with regular issues. In favour of the R/C is that its the less common prefix to a rather uncommon signature variety so the demand could persist.
Market demand of a particular replacement often depends on what collectors see at auctions, coin shops, and their favourite dealers. For example, one * I/X or *N/S in UNC can cause a flurry of buyers while a run of *V/S might not (since its the more common variety).
In fact, usually when collectors see a run of a particular replacement (eg: * A/M $1.00 at an auction) which has low numbers printed then the market demand for that particular prefix
might even drop -- despite the fact that only few were printed.
Why?
The appearance of consecutive runs often gives the impression that there's many out there. Another case in point (for a rare note). Search the rare Osborne/Towers $20 and you will find no shortage being sold on the most popular online auction site. Now, this could mean that there's plenty of this rare signature variety, or it could mean that the increases in BV have brought many out to the hammer (its difficult to say). I do know one dealer who won't touch them, and yet we also saw a quite a few *$1 N/Y being auctioned, knowing full well this was just a blip in the market.
Another factor to consider is condition. Most collectors assume consecutives are unc and will accept nothing less. If some of those *V/S are less than unc-- this could present a problem for you to sell. Each note will be inspected by the buyer, and often the bookends are less than gem (roughly handled).
If you really are serious about finding out the value of your notes -- you should take them into a reputable dealer, or to a show, and ask. However, you may be wise to do this if you are only considering to sell them (that will be the expecation). Hope this helps.