Banknote acquisitions for Oct - Dec of 2025

Amazed we do not have a separate space to show our banknote acquisitions. We always have a monthly page for fresh coin buy ins and most months, the Exonumia department has its acquistions thread. But rather than bundle the notes with coins, let them shine by themselves.

It seems awkward adding bought notes to threads wanting information and values and cramming them in with the coins. I decided we keep the thread open to the end of '25, rather than monthanise it.

Here are some Pacific beauties I got in, a nice set of Cook Island notes from 1992. Cook Islands use NZ dollar and their notes were more for collectors and souvenir hunters, NZ currency is fully legal there and now they use our banknotes.

WARNING these notes show some nudity, so if you are a hardcore fundamentalist Christian or 8 year old child, don't look.

1987 first series showing Ina and the shark and local carvings on it. The note was part of a 3 note series of a $20 and $3 note (Bizarre and popular).

1992 saw an issue of 4 colourful notes at $3, 10, 20 and 50. Each note showed a scene from different parts of the Cook Islands and a communal scene of Parishoners at a church (Painted white limestone, on the main island of Rarotonga - near Amuri beach)

Aitutaki, the 2nd main island is showcased here.

$10 was the turn of Rarotonga, the main island that has 13k of the 18k population and some high mountains.

The $20 showcases the southern islands of Mauke, Mitiaro and Mangaia amongst a few others.

My two higher notes had stains from storage and were cheaper than face value (The set was demonitised years ago).

The $50 finally showcases the Northern cooks including Suvarrow, Palmerston, Penrhyn and others. These islands are at 8 and 9 degrees south, whilst Raro and the southern cooks are at 21 - 22 degrees south showing the wide range of spread (Aitutaki is 18 south).

The last note was a 2021 issue of the $3 of 1987, its Polymer and rehashes Ina and the Shark along with the statue of Tangaroa that appears on the dollars. The series signed by the PM Mark Brown, was bought up by speculators and hardly circulated there. I could not find one when I was there in late 2023 and bought this note like the others off a NZ based dealer.

I also bought some Samoan notes and as you can see, the colourful designs and weird denominations hold sway there too.

The colourful 2008 series is being Polymerised in 2023/24 and the notes to 20 tala have been done, but not the 50 and 100 yeat.

The 20 tala shows the Manumea (Samoan Pigeon - toothbilled pigeon)and Sopoaga falls, the highest falls on the Islands, Samoan designs and colourful graphics enhance it. 

This 50 tala is from those 2008 designs, but this is a special one from 2012 celebrating 50 years of Independence and shows the Bank of Samoa building (right) whilst the Samoan Parliament Offices on the left side in central Apia. The note is from an uncut sheet with the same serial number (Cut up by Bank of Samoa, not me).

Being a good Polynesian boy, notes from this area fascinate me the bright colours resonate with me as well, and my Ancestry shows I have some Samoan ancestry from way back. I have been there and loved it. I have seen the buildings shown and Sopoaga (Said Soapo anga) falls.

This unique 60 tala note came out for 60 years of Independence in 2022, and is legal tender, but hardly used there (60 tala is a lot of money in a country where average income is $4,000 a year). It shows Fiame Naomi Mata ‘afa, who was the prime minister of Samoa who was locked out of parliament by the bad loser in 2021 (Tuila’ epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi) - but she has been voted out now, which may make this note rarer. Still a 60 unit note is very interesting.

Both Cook Islands and Samoa have their own native languages, but also speak English due to the New Zealand/British colonial influence. Although Samoa was German between 1900 and 1914 and the German influence is strong there. Many Samoans have German surnames like von Reiche and Schwelke, and have German ancestry.

Here's my small contribution: This recent purchase is of a 100 Denari banknote from North Macedonia released in the new millennium to commemorate 2000 years of Christianity. The only difference between this banknote and the regular issue is the “2000” overprint over the ceiling rosette watermark. As some of you may know the new millennium brought with it a plethora of commemorative banknotes, a theme I am slowly collecting and one that will eventually break my wallet (Fiji and Malta--I'm looking at you!)

An excellent showcasing from you, Moneytane. My favorites have to be the 1992 Cook Islands series with how they showcase different island groups on each note.

Bot, I love the 100 denari piece.

Bot

As some of you may know the new millennium brought with it a plethora of commemorative banknotes, a theme I am slowly collecting and one that will eventually break my wallet (Fiji and Malta--I'm looking at you!)

At least for Fiji, they have the FJ$2000 for sale on the Reserve Bank’s website for, although still pricey, fairly cheap compared to the rest of the market.

Now, onto the notes I received just last week.

This is my first 100 ruble piece actually issued by the empire and not by the provisional government or RSFSR. I love the intricate design in lieu of it being a rather “boring” note in terms of color.

It’s the same case with this 500 ruble note: it’s also the first of its kind I have issued while the empire was still around. This one has a bit more color than the $500, but I still, as always, fell in love with the details.

These three are the least exciting additions in terms of purchase justification; they’re just different signature combinations that aren’t any rarer than the next. I do love their designs and wasn’t too concerned with condition as I already have one of each of these in a high grade, the only difference being the variant.

Thank you. The Russian notes are very nice and issued when they were very high face values and show elaborate designs. No one would make notes that nice any more.

Glad to see this thread is taking off.

Polynesian notes are always interesting as they may be printed by Europeans and have English language, but the designs add a lot of local flavour, with bright colours, elaborate designs and local patterns and also local nature. The Samoan and Tongan ones have lots of their own language, whereas most Melanesian nations (Fiji, Papua, Solomons) use more English language on their notes.

The Fijian 2k note was an expensive outlier, but they also issued a much more affordable $2 version as well.

This one is not as large, but does a fairly good job showing many different aspects of Fijiana.

My own country also did a bright Millienium note as well!

Both sides and a close up showing rarer red serials and common black serials.

Polynesian notes are definitely lacking in my collection, I must get more after seeing what you've showcased here.

Today, I received in the mail my first Salvadoran note. It is a humble 5 colón piece issued in March of 1998.

I was previously deterred from Salvadoran pieces due to their relatively high prices even for common notes, but am quite glad to have finally gotten around to adding El Salvador to my list of countries. It's a fairly simple design with a lot of white space, and for that reason it is not my favorite; however, it does feature an important historical figure: Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus), who is credited with being the first European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The Commemorative $3.00 from Cooks Islands was one of my early World note acquisitions & I had to get a $10 too @Moneytane . I really like the designs of all the notes posted here (Samoa, Macedonia, Imperial Russia) @Voided_Username01 & @Bot. 

I almost wish I didn't see them b/c I may have to pick one (or 2) of these up😀.  I've always been a big fan of Fiji & El Salvador (have the 5, 10 & 25 Colones). I actually really like the last series design since its such a departure from the classic designs that came out of El Salvador (before they shut down their banknote operations & adopted USD).

I got a couple “gap-fillers” recently like this $20 from Singapore. (I now have the $1.00 to $50.00 of their Bird series):

And a Two Pa'anga from Tonga (slowly building a set from this nation):

And then I had to get this 1 Franc from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is not a “gap filler” & will likely stand alone from that country. I just wanted this note b/c its the first time I have seen 3 captured “heroes” portrayed as "captured & facing execution" as seen on the reverse. I thought that was a pretty chilling image to put on a nation's currency:

I love the three new notes from you, @Serial_Number_8! My favorite has got to be the $20 from Singapore because of how well the colors work together. I find the DRC one interesting with its depiction; I never would've noticed if you hadn't pointed it out.

I purchased a few multi-note and single lots with notes I didn't have yet. I kept seven of the ten total pieces (ended up giving the 10 pence and 10 rubles away as they are duplicates, and put the 200 riel on my swaplist).

The Argentine and Chilean notes are gap fillers with signature variants I didn't yet have, and the 1000 Ugandan shillings piece is one I purchased in preparation for the 2000-20 000 I have coming from France in a month or so. Mauritania is a new country for my collection, and I really like how intricate the designs are, as is common with Muslim countries' notes. I got the Canadian note because it was at a good price and was something I'd been thinking of purchasing for a while The 5 Ugandan shillings is one I found intriguing for its inclusion of local agriculture and a broad spectrum of colors.

My favorite piece of these acquisitions, though, is the 10 Cambodian riels from 1955. It has such a detailed frame around a beautiful temple, while also showcasing local commerce on the reverse. Higher quality photos follow.

@Serial_Number_8 I love that Singaporean note! The airplane on the reverse is a Concorde that was jointly operated by Singapore Airlines and British Airways, it shared liveries (colours) of both companies on different sides. Thanks for sharing!

My favorite has got to be the $20 from Singapore because of how well the colors work together.

I love that Singaporean note! The airplane on the reverse is a Concorde that was jointly operated by Singapore Airlines and British Airways, it shared liveries (colours) of both companies on different sides.

Thanks guys! I think it must be pretty popular too because its fairly common & yet the price has always seemed lofty to me (considering how many sellers have an UNC example listed). It took me years to get that note b/c I often considered buying or bidding on a TPG example (but lost), etc, so it was nice to finally close that gap.  Love the photo of the Concordes @Bot (thanks for sharing). The tech on those planes has always fascinated me.

Actually, I also got 2 more notes for my “Aviation” set.  The 2001 date for this Lithuanian classic:

And the replacement for this 2007 version:

I'm also trying to get some of the 10 New Sols from Peru.  I just picked up the 2001 date for the note which looks like this one (sorry -haven't got a scan or picture of the one I just picked up):

I also like that 10 Riels from Cambodia @Voided_Username01.  I know these early versions of East Asian nations can be tough to find since have started searching for a few notes from from South Vietnam & French Indochina.