PMG Australian note grading -- What do you think?

Hello all,

What do you think of the grade given to this note?

https://picclick.ca/Australia-1942-Armitage-McFarlane-%C2%A31-Pound-Banknote-PMG-116735780824.html

I wondered whether it was a fake PMG sleeve, but it isn't; it's registered on their site. If you want to check, here is the registration number (and enter 50 for grade):

1536678-002

From PMGnotes.com:

About Uncirculated 50: The note has two heavier folds or light horizontal and vertical folds. The handling can be significant.

Looking at your banknote I can definitely see heavy horizontal and vertical folds and corner folds. Despite these issues, PMG has determined that the banknote is EPQ (Exceptional Paper Quality) which is good. It certainly has a good eye appeal on the obverse.

I would grade that note as an original Good VF, especially apparent from the reverse.

Bot

From PMGnotes.com:

About Uncirculated 50: The note has two heavier folds or light horizontal and vertical folds. The handling can be significant.

 

Personally, I would not grade my notes with 2 folds whether it is horizontal or vertical, especially with sight of handling. When I get notes like this the best I would record my notes as EF+ or EF++, depending on the look of the notes.

I agree, to me its overgraded. Having an EPQ attribution on a note is always a good plus… but I am curious as to why the banknote has an EPQ attribution despite several hard folds… but it's not the first time I've seen this before. The obverse looks decent, maybe even justifying the 50 AU grade, but the reverse completely contradicts that thought for me.

Are these pictures from the same note? The creases don’t seem to show up on the front and the discoloration is also only on the back.

The creases don’t seem to show up on the front and the discoloration is also only on the back.

It is common to see more wear/damage on the back of the note because people often fold the note with the back of the bill exposed & the front protected (unexposed).  Dirt clings to the damaged fibres over time & that is what you see on the white borders or lighter fields.

I agree with @Hibernia - the note looks VF+ at best. It's like the certifier failed to look at the reverse side.  It is not often you see such a disparity (usually 1 grade level too high, if you see this). 

Thank you all for your valuable input 👍.

There's another reason why the back shows more signs of wear and it is, simply, that there is a lot more white space than on the front.

I agree that this doesn't even qualify as EF. It's VF+ at best indeed. Beside the obvious folds, not one of the corners is even close to being sharp!! This should have been easy! PMG gives “3” for population in AU50. At best it should be “2”, and I certainly would like to have a look at those two other notes! I can't believe they both be so incompetently graded.

What's the saying? “Buy the note, not the holder”, right? This is a textbook example.

EDIT — On the front, the middle horizontal fold is clearly visible. If you look under the “ℓ” of Commonweaℓth at the bottom of the central text, too, the fold that is so obvious on the back can be seen here, too, extending from the ℓ to the white frame.

Bot

Having an EPQ attribution on a note is always a good plus… but I am curious as to why the banknote has an EPQ attribution despite several hard folds… 

EPQ [and its equivalent from other grading companies] is a quality mark, independent of the grading. To qualify, a note must be a nice original of a minimum grade (mid-VF region, I think), and not have been tampered with (pressed, washed, ironed, etc), or have any blemishes (foxing, pin holes, ink marks, edge nicks, tears, etc).

Hibernia

Bot

Having an EPQ attribution on a note is always a good plus… but I am curious as to why the banknote has an EPQ attribution despite several hard folds… 

EPQ [and its equivalent from other grading companies] is a quality mark, independent of the grading. To qualify, a note must be a nice original of a minimum grade (mid-VF region, I think), and not have been tampered with (pressed, washed, ironed, etc), or have any blemishes (foxing, pin holes, ink marks, edge nicks, tears, etc).

Thank you! 😊