Why Collect Paper Money?

[ Return to RealBanknotes Home ]

Why collect paper money? Simply put, collecting paper money is a beautiful pastime. I say this simply, but with the utmost sincerity. This is a hobby that can make its hobbyists travel the world at the blink of an eye -- at the turn of an album page. With a little curiosity, and a capacity to learn, collecting banknotes can educate a perons on the subjects of geography, economics, history, biography and, last but not least, culture. With some level of attention to detail, the hobbyist can easily expand on these subjects, and traverse geographical and cultural borders, all from the seat of his or her easy chair.

With the simple act of collecting banknotes a collector can view historical artifacts, national treasures, and wildlife from all over the world. My journey into banknote collecting has given me a new passion that I can enjoy after a hard days work. By simply checking my mailbox, I can wind down my day by enjoying the artistic portrayal of Gazelles running across an Angolan field, or maybe viewing the craftsmanship of ancient Cambodian carvers, on the back face of some of their national banknotes. Ships entering famed ports of the past, battles for independence fought on horseback, and flora and fauna from around the world are at your hands, a few pieces at a time, each taste wetting your appetite for the next new adventure.

And it can be done cheaply too. This is not necessarily a rich mans pastime, this buying of banknotes. With the coming of the internet, a new era of banknote collecting and trading has come. Sometimes for pennies apiece one can expand an ever growing collection, and can do so as slowly or quickly as he wishes.

As a matter of fact, not only is this a hobby, or even an investment in one's education, but the hobby can result in a financial asset as well. After all, supply and demand do dictate value, and supplies of non-current banknotes are only decreasing. There are no replacements for older banknotes, as they are not a renewable resource, and the hobby and number of hobbyists is growing exponentially each year. Numbers have proven, over and over again, that those who did 'invest' in collectable banknotes have far outperformed stocks and other monetary investments over the last few decades. With the exception of the few investors who fell into fortunes during certain market booms, the markets have done little, if anything, for most people. On the other hand, I do not believe one could lose money collecting banknotes as long as one is at least a little educated on their value. If nothing else, one will have money to show for it and, as common sense dictates: 'A person with money is never poor.'