Citeer: "greggles"lets us say in the year 2020 then a perfect banknote grade would be graded at a 70."
-This is a big topic. First off, a grade of "UNC70EPQ" is a perfect note (like you wrote) & rarely seen: and mostly the realm of PMG US (as they print billions) & some recent polymer.
-Secondly, grading banknotes is very subjective so some grading TPG (Third Party Grading) companies (like PMG, PCGS, Legacy & World/Asian unknown graders) are often liberal while a rare few (like BCS from Canada) are very strict & conservative & rarely dole out the big #'s in comparison to the first few TPG's listed. And they do make mistakes so be wary of that & try to learn how to grade the note (don't just trust the holder).
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now what would be the bestest grade to be reasonably found today for a banknote from USA 1860 ? or Scotland 1950 etc."
- Sorry can't tell you (I need more info) but you can look up whatever note you want on the TPG registers. So that would be
PMG Population Report & the other certifier (who keep registers). Each certifier has their own record & usually makes that info available to the public. It takes a bit of time to get to know how tough any particular note is & certified banknotes is a relative new thing (compared to coins). You will also need to get familiar with the P# (& the prefix/signature variations to each series). That's what makes collecting banknotes so exciting: it truly is a fairly new hobby! And what I really like about it is- that the majority of US coin collectors have remained in the dark about world currency (with the exception of the colonies, Caribbean islands, UK, Australia, Canada, Fiji & New Zealand, just to name a few). IMO: this won't last very long so you need to get what you want to collect soon.
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i look at graded banknotes like pmg 35 and wonder at the price and have no clue if a 35 is a reasonable grade for that note from that time period..."
- again, it depends on the banknote (& the year). What's is often more important is that the # has a "Q" designation (PMG = EPQ & PCGS =PPQ). "Q" means that the note is in its original condition (not altered in any way). So PMG VF35EPQ is far more collectible than PMG VF35. Most of the big French/European notes (GB White Fivers) were folded, pressed or have pinholes so they're really tough to get a "Q." Early Canadian DOC & BOC 1935/1937 are tough to get with the "Q." Most collectors I know won't settle for a note without the "Q" unless its quite rare.
I like VF35EPQ & higher b/c these notes generally have great eye appeal & many of the earlier notes are tough to find in these higher grades. Check out my
Notaphylic Culture website if you want to learn more about grading (I have videos on this subject too).
