Notes We Grade - US and World

Posted on 9/1/2015

US CURRENCY

PMG accepts all US Small Size and Large Size notes for grading. Under the US service tiers, PMG also grades all Colonial notes, Fractional currency, Military Payment Certificates, Obsolete currency and Confederate States.

PMG references many US note types by Friedberg number, based on the system described in Paper Money of the United States by Arthur and Ira Friedberg. In cases where this reference is used, “referenced to Friedberg” appears in the below list:

  • US Large Size Type — referenced to Friedberg

  • US Small Size Type — referenced to Friedberg and Standard Guide to Small Size US Paper Money by John Schwartz and Scott Lindquist

  • US Colonials — referenced to Friedberg and The Early Paper Money Of America by Eric Newman and Stuart Levine

  • US Fractional — referenced to Friedberg, The Encyclopedia of United States Fractional & Postal Currency by Milton Friedberg and A Collector's Guide To Postage & Fractional Currency by Robert Kravitz

  • US Military Payment Certificates (MPC) — referenced to Military Payment Certificates by Fred Schwan

  • Confederate and State Currency — referenced to Friedberg, Confederate and Southern States Currency by Grover Criswell, Collecting Confederate Paper Money by Pierre Fricke, Southern States Currency by Hugh Shull, A Guide Book of Counterfeit Confederate Currency by George Tremmel and Comprehensive Catalog and History of Confederate Bonds by Douglas B. Ball, Ph.D.

  • US Obsolete Currency — referenced to Standard Catalog of United States Obsolete Bank Notes 1782-1866 by James Haxby, as well as individual state books by various authors

  • US Large Size Nationals — referenced to National Bank Notes by Don Kelly

  • US Small Size Nationals — referenced to National Bank Notes by Don Kelly

  • US Paper Money Errors — referenced to United States Paper Money Errors by Frederick J. Bart & US Error Note Encyclopedia by Stephen M. Sullivan

  • US satire and denominated scrip, including goods and services, merchant and transportation are eligible for certification. *Checks and stocks of any country are not eligible for certification.

WORLD BANKNOTES

PMG references many World note types by Pick number, based on the system developed by Albert Pick and described in Standard Catalog of World Paper Money edited by Tracy Schmidt. In cases where this reference is used, “referenced to Pick” appears in the below list:

  • Australian Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Renniks Australian Coin and Banknote Values by Eddie Cummings

  • Belgian Emergency Issues — referenced to Belgium's Monetary History of the Great War 1914-1918 by Alain Debelder

  • Canadian Banknotes "Bank Of Canada" and "Dominion of Canada" — referenced to Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Government Paper Money edited by R. J. Graham

  • Canadian Charter Banknotes — referenced to Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Bank Notes edited by R. J. Graham

  • Chinese Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Chinese Banknotes by Ward Smith and Brian Matravers

  • Cuba Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Cuba 1781–1898 Paper Money of the Spanish Colonial Period by Pavel Meleg

  • Dominican Republic Banknotes — referenced to Pick and El Papel Moneda Dominicano by Isaac Rudman and Miguel Estrella

  • Great Britain Banknotes — referenced to Pick and English Paper Money by Vincent Duggleby edited by Pam West

  • Hong Kong, China(China) & Macau, China(China) Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Hong Kong(China) & Macau(China) Numismatic Reference 1846–2014 by K.N. Boon

  • Indian Banknotes — referenced to Pick and The Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money by Kishore Jhunjihunwalla and Rezwan Razack

  • Ireland Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Paper Money of Ireland by Bob Blake and Jonathan Callaway edited by Pam West

  • Korean Banknotes — referenced to Pick, D&K and K&C

  • Mexican Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Mexican Paper Money edited by Cory Frampton, Duane Douglas, Alberto Hidalgo and Elmer Powell

  • Paraguayan Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Billetes del Paraguay by Miguel Ángel Pratt Mayans

  • Paraguayan Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Tokens and Vouchers from Paraguay by Miguel Ángel Pratt Mayans

  • Polish Banknotes — referenced to Pick and Catalogue of Polish Banknotes by Czeslaw Mitczak

  • Sarawak, Malaysia, Straits Settlements, Malaya, Malaya & British Borneo, Singapore, Brunei — referenced to Pick and Malaysia, Brunei & Singapore Banknotes & Coins edited by K.N. Boon

  • All other World Banknotes — referenced to Pick

IMPORTANT NOTES

Certain banknotes are not eligible for PMG grading and encapsulation:

  • Banknotes that have altered design features such as dates, imprints, serial numbers, denominations, watermarks, etc. and banknotes that are not genuine or of questionable authenticity are not certified by PMG.
  • Most banknotes issued for reasons other than some form of socioeconomic exchange are not eligible for PMG certification.
  • Banknotes with courtesy autographs shall only be notated in a standardized and generic manner.
  • Please note:
    • To be eligible for a courtesy autograph notation, the signature(s) of either and/or both of the Register of the Treasury, Secretary of the Treasury or Treasurer of the United States from either that same series or any previous series would need to appear on the front or back of the note.
  • Other signatures will not be recognized, except in select cases as determined at PMG's sole discretion. Please contact PMG Customer Service if you have these types of notes prior to submitting.
  • Checks and stocks are not eligible for certification.
  • For a complete list of world note types and catalog numbers that will not be graded by PMG, click here.


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