FAQ

Where are the scans you promised in your first post?

A: I´m sorry, but they aren´t. I figured out it would take me ages to scan everything so I simply gave up doing it. If you´d like to have a scanned image of a specific circulated banknote I´m offering, please let me know, that I can try scanning it for you. The only thing I ask you is that you refrain from asking me to scan very cheap banknotes (let´s say, under US$ 5). In such cases, I´m sorry but I´m afraid I´ll have to ask you to trust in my judgment.

I´m interested in some UNC banknotes you have but I´d like to see how they look like beforehand. What can we do about it?

A: Well, for UNC banknotes it´s very simple: just look at your catalogue or some specialized website, and you´ll see the banknote exactly as it is. I suggest you to take a look at the following sites:

http://www.banknotes.com/images.htm

http://www.kcshop.com/imagegallery/Brazil.htm

http://www.atsnotes.com/catalog/catalog.html

http://aes.iupui.edu/rwise/notedir/mappage.html

How can you swap banknotes cheaper than the catalogue?

A: I can swap it cheaper because I get them cheaper: as simple as that. When I buy banknotes, I usually buy them in quite large quantities (very often a whole bundle of 100 identical banknotes). By doing so, I can get them at an extremely low price.

Why do you have so many banknotes to exchange?

A: Basically, for two reasons: first, because I´ve been collecting them for almost 20 years; second, because I´ve been investing a good money in my collection lately, and I bought lots of things. Sometimes I get whole bundles, or lots of many different banknotes, and, among them, there are always some I already have.

Why do we need to have a deal of a minimum of US$ 40 or more for the swap to happen?

A: Because of the price of the post. Here in Ecuador I never posted a registered letter, with banknotes, for less than 8 dollars (sometimes it´s more than US$ 10). If you take this into account and the fact that I trade my banknotes at a low price (usually under catalogue price), you´ll see that if I make a deal of, let´s say, US$ 20 or US$ 30, I´ll actually be losing money.



I´m very interested in some banknotes you have, but our deal is valued at US$ 20, only. Can we still do the deal?

A: Maybe, actually it depends on where you come from. If we have this situation, write me, and maybe you can give me some current banknotes from your country (as long as they´re 100% UNC) in exchange of Brazilian Reais (at official exchange rate) or Ecuadorian Sucres (which are not in circulation anymore).




You´ve sent me an email inviting me to check your blog and even sent me your last swaplist in excel. Does that mean you´ll send me your part first?

A:  Not necessarily. Indeed, I sent emails to lots of people, not only those I found in good traders lists from friends of mine, but nearly everyone I knew collect banknotes. Because of that, I´m sorry, but if you don´t have a list of people you´ve already traded with, or your not a member of LANSA or IBNS, I have no option but to ask you to send me first in our first deal.

Are you a professional dealer? Do you sell banknotes? Do you make money swapping banknotes?

A: No, no, and no. I don´t make money with my collection and I never sold any single banknote. Banknote collecting is my hobby, and just that. I never look for profit when swapping, which is just a way of expanding my collection not spending too much and having fun.