Definitions of terms used in the collectible foreign money hobby

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Following are the definitions of the most common terms used in the hobby of foreign money collecting:

Bank note or Banknote
A technical name for a currency bill. The word banknote is used mostly outside of the United States.

Catalog
A reference publication, sometimes partly illustrated, listing all the different known types of currency from a country, a region, or the World. A catalog is used mainly for identifying and classifying bills. Note: Catalog pricing is for general reference only. Actual values of bills are determined by availability, current market conditions, and many other factors, and are subject to change at any time.

Choice
A choice bill is a crisp uncirculated bill that has special merit due to certain characteristics, the most common one being perfect centering of the design on the paper, on both sides (the same border width on all four edges).

Color-shifting ink
Indelible ink that acquires varying hues of color, according to the angle at which it is viewed.

Commemorative issue
A bill designed in honor of an event or person, with a date, text or serial number of special significance.

Counterfeit
An illegal reproduction of a current or obsolete bill, made for fraudulent use or with the intent to deceive.

Counting fold
Visible evidence that a brand-new bill has been handled inappropriately by someone, usually a teller at a bank. Please see "crease".

Crease
A hard fold on a bill. One single crease on a brand-new bill renders it "Extra Fine" and reduces its collector value by at least one-half. The crease can be of any length, even a couple of millimeters.

Crisp Uncirculated
The abbreviation for this term is CU, both in capital letters. Please see "uncirculated".

Current issue
A bill which is still fully valid for the payment of goods, services or taxes in a country or region.

Denomination
The monetary value and currency unit printed on a bill. Examples: one dollar, five pounds, ten francs, 1,000 yen.

Emergency issue
A type of bill created and released into circulation under austere conditions.

Face value
The monetary value of a bill which is prominently printed on the front and back. Examples: One, Five, Ten, Twenty, Fifty, One Hundred.

Fantasy note
As the name implies, a fantasy note is not real money. It is printed as a novelty only. Fantasy notes are not legal tender in any country, and they cannot be redeemed anywhere.

Foxing
High-humidity stains. On a bill, they usually appear as spots of dark yellow, light brown or dark brown.

Fractional money
Currency that has a face value of less than the monetary unit of a country. For example, a bill for fifty cents is considered fractional, because fifty cents is less than one dollar, the dollar being the single, basic monetary unit. Other examples of fractional money are one-quarter dinar (Middle East), and fifty quetzal cents (Guatemala).

Glassine envelope
An envelope made of a thin semi-transparent material, used to house paper collectibles such as currency, stamps, postcards, etc.

Grading
A scale used to assess the collectable condition of a bill. The most common grading scale consists of letters which may be accompanied by plus (+) or minus (-) signs. From highest to lowest, the scale has the following main markers: Ch CU (Choice Crisp Uncirculated), AU (About Uncirculated), EF or XF (Extra Fine), VF (Very Fine), F (Fine), G (Good), and Poor. The higher the bill scores on the scale, the more valuable it is to a potential collector. The plus (+) or minus (-) signs can be used with any of the grading letters except Ch CU (Choice Crisp Uncirculated).

Hard currency
Money from governments that, due to their regional or World influence, is widely recognized. Examples of such governing authorities are those of the United States of America, the European Union, England, Japan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, and others. Hard currency of various types can be essential for many international transactions.

High-grade
A high-grade bill is currency in a condition of preservation that is preferred by collectors. Often, but not always, collectors prefer bills whose condition ranges from Extra Fine (abbreviated EF or XF) all the way up to Choice Crisp Uncirculated (abbreviated Ch CU). However, if a bill is really scarce, 'high-grade' could also mean Very Fine Plus (abbreviated VF+) and up. Therefore, high-grade is a general term that is subject to the definition of each collector.

Holder
A clear sleeve used to keep a bill in.

Hyperinflation
A phenomenon in which prices for basic goods and services reach stratospheric heights within an overwhelmingly short period of time. This is usually caused by releasing currency to outpace demand. During periods of hyperinflation, money is printed with ultra-high values (usually 10,000 and up), feeding a vicious circle. Hyperinflation is a sign that a country or region's economy has spiraled out of control.

Japanese Invasion Money
Bills printed by Japanese military occupation forces during World War II. They were made for use in Burma, Dutch New Guinea, Malaya and the Philippines. Commonly referred to as JIM.

Military Payment Certificate
Special type of currency used in military bases and canteens, valid only for transactions among authorized personnel. Also referred to as MPC. Military Payment Certificates are real money because they are issued by governments of stable countries.

Note
Abbreviation of the word "banknote" (a currency bill).

Notgeld
Local money printed in municipalities in Europe, usually under some sort of German influence. Notgeld was placed in circulation during economic hardship, often replacing coins of different metals. The majority of notgeld was printed on paper.

Numismatics
The studying of all forms of money, which includes both coins and currency.

Obsolete notes
Bills that have been completely withdrawn from circulation by the issuing entity. Such bills are no longer valid for use as payment for goods, services or taxes. Obsolete notes are almost always highly collectable.

Occupation money
Currency printed by a foreign, invading country, for use in an occupied region. To read more about this, click here

Paper money
Currency printed on paper, polymer or Tyvek(R).

Pick catalog
The "Standard Catalog of World Paper Money", which is one of the hobby's most commonly used reference guides. It was created mainly to help identify and classify bills. Although the Pick catalog has valuations, it is not a retail catalog.

Pick number
A bill's designation on the "Standard Catalog of World Paper Money". Pick numbers begin with a capital letter P, followed by a hyphen, and by either a number or a combination of letters and numbers. The letters after the hyphen can be in upper case, lower case, or a combination of upper and lower cases.

Polymer
A patented film material used to print money on. The resulting bills look like regular bills, but they feel different to the touch. They especially resist humidity and water damage, more so than paper and similar materials. Some people argue that polymer money lasts longer.

Private issues
A private bill is like a loan coupon, and it has limited value. Only the issuer may be willing to exchange it for legal tender. Private issues always have an expiration date. Similar to fantasy notes, private issues are not real money. Private issues exist for Antarctica, Chatham Islands, and Jason Islands, among many others.

Replacement note
A replacement note is a bill with a special prefix, suffix or other indicator, in association with its serial number, reserved for substituting defective bills produced during the manufacturing and printing processes.

Revaluation
When a country's money has been revalued, it means that at least two zeroes have been removed from the bills. Revaluation is one means to temporarily curb hyperinflation. Sometimes, revaluation is successful in the long term, but other times, it is just a temporary fix. For example, a certain country has passed a law saying that, going forward, one new peso is worth 1,000,000 of the old pesos. Revaluation requires printing of new money with less zeroes on it. In our example, they keep the 1, but eliminate six zeroes. Often, the name of the currency unit has to be changed also, sometimes by simply adding the words "new" and "old" to the traditional name of the currency unit (in this case, the name of the currency unit is "peso").

Specimen
A genuine currency bill used to educate the public about a new issue of money. Specimens often have overprints, perforations, and/or serial numbers composed of all zeros. Specimen money is highly prized among collectors of currency.

Unc
Pronounced "ongk". See uncirculated.

Uncirculated
A perfectly preserved bill, never folded, and never mishandled by a bank teller, the public, or a collector. An uncirculated bill has four straight, square, sharp and clean corners, without any evidence of wear or rounding, and the surface of the note is completely devoid of stains and extraneous markings.

Uniface
Currency which has been designed to have printing on one side of the paper only. A uniface bill is not the same as a printing error. In a printing error, all images on either one of two intended sides have been inadvertently omitted.

Watermark
A design or image visible when a bill is held against a light. A watermark is a security device to help deter or detect counterfeiting.


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