Scottishmoney's Newbs

[templar]

VERY UNIQUE VARIETY OF BILLS................EACH DESIGN SHOWS SOMETHING ABOUT THE ISSUERS AND THE TIMES THEY WERE ISSUED..............THE GERMAN PROPAGANDA MACHINE MUST HAVE BEEN VERY BUSY AT THE START OF THE WAR......
  YOUR SERVANT AND FRIEND.........THE TEMPLAR

[templar]

HERE IS ANOTHER NOTE FROM WWII

 TEMPLAR

[Nighthawk]

Joe, now that's a nice note!      

[templar]

THANK YOU NIGHTHAWK.......MISSED YOU AT THE COIN CLUB.........VERY GOOD EXCHANGE OF COINS AND MATERIALS.........WE HAD AN IN CLUB COIN SHOW WHERE EVERYONE COULD BRING IN SOME THINGS TO EXCHANGE...SELL....OR SHOW OFF.........IT TURNED OUT TO BE A VERY GOOD IDEA......AND ONE OF OUR MEMBERS RETUNED FROM HER SOUTHERN WINTER STAY...SO THAT MEANS SPRING IS HERE FOR SURE....HER NAME IS OTTILIE NOTT.....AGE 92.....AND ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF OUR CLUB.......SHE IS A GRAND LADY WITH A VERY GOOD MEMORY.....AND A FEW GOOD STORIES TO TELL.......
YOUR SERVANT AND FRIEND.........THE TEMPLAR

[scottishmoney]

This is one of those wildly popular amongst world banknote collectors notes. Great artistry coupled with wonderful printing and dramatic imagery combine to mystify one with the intriguing subjects here. Curiously though, while this note is popular, and relatively common despite it's now advanced age; it is quite difficult to find a truly uncirculated one as these notes saw heavy usage right up until the German inflationary period of 1920-1924.




The front of the note has a lovely vignette of "Germania" with a toddler who is launching a dove with an olive branch overlooking the Baltic Sea, not exactly the imagery you would expect in the Prussian dominated Germany of the era. The most dramatic and evocative image on the note is on the reverse however. This dragon, with his smoking snort guarding a reliquary is just fantastic and is what makes this note so popular.

Given that I wanted the note in the best condition possible, it pretty much predicated a long delay in purchasing one. This note is the scarcer six digit serial variety that was printed before WWI, the notes with seven digits were printed after the war and in much greater quantities.

[EgCollector]

Very beuatiful note scottishmoney 
But with all my respect to the dragon, the front of this note is a beuty 

Thanks for sharing the note and the knowledge 

[templar]

THAT IS ONE BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF PAPER MONEY.......IT IS A SHAME THAT WE HAVE LOST MOST OF THAT IN OUR EFFORT TO MODERNIZE---THANKS FOR SHARING

TEMPLAR

[scottishmoney]

Puerto Rico had been a colony of the Spanish Crown for over 400 years until 1898 when the naval forces of the United States of America launched an invasion during the Spanish-American War of 1898. Prior to the United States seizing control of the island, Puerto Rican nationalists fought against the Spanish colonial government with an objective of independence, a cause shared in common with Cuban nationalists of the time. Despite their hard fought campaign they failed in their attempt and control of Puerto Rico passed seemlessly from Spain to the United States when the Treaty of Paris was signed in December 1898.

One of the specific clauses of the Treaty of Paris was the provision that institutions which had previously existed during the Spanish administration of the islands would continue, in this case the Banco Español de Puerto Rico. This institution was formed in 1888 with the accession of the Spanish Crown granting a 25 year charter. The first banknotes were issued beginning in 1894 and featured the paschal lamb and or Maria Christina of Austria who was Spain's regent during the minority of Spain's King Alfonso XIII.

Beginning in 1900 the Banco Español de Puerto Rico went through a name change and became The Bank of Porto Rico, and a now curious anomaly occured regarding titles on the banknotes, the notes became bilingual with both Spanish and English, but apparently the American colonial authorities in an overt effort at Americanization intended to eliminate Spanish as a spoken language in the islands. This is apparent with this reverse proof of a $5 from the 1909 issue. The English takes precedence in size and placement on the note, the font in the English below the portrait is noticeably larger. It is now known that the American colonial government during the time had hoped to replace Spanish with English and the usage of the latter was strongly encouraged. As often happens with such overt measures, of course it met with strong resistance and the only real loser was the English language. To this day, with a distinctly Puerto Rican dialect, Spanish continues to be spoken prominently there.

The banknotes of The Bank of Porto Rico - Banco de Puerto Rico are incredibly rare now. The 25 year charter expired in 1913, and the bank was liquidated. Liabilities of the bank including it's banknotes continued to retain their value and did in fact circulate actively until 1916 when they were recalled for the first time. In 1925 a final $14872.00 was removed from circulation and through the Great Depression of the 1930's the vast majority of notes were redeemed by their bearers. Given their unique history, with early ties to a Spanish sponsored bank, to a United States sponsored bank that continued to issue it's own notes during a time when American National Banks were then chartered in Puerto Rico in denominations of United States Dollars, these notes have an enviable history and interests amongst collectors. This particular proof is the reverse from the last issue, Series F, that was issued in 1909. It features a portrait that was a stock image from American Banknote Company, the lady representing knowledge appears on many contemporary issues from the Americas including the Canadian Bank of Commerce $5 of 1907, and the Two Pesos note from the El Banco De La Compañia De Credito De Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

[Nighthawk]

Beautiful note & beautiful lady!!!   Wonder what book she's holding in her hand?   

[Nighthawk]

Here's my lady........   

[templar]

5 PESOS FOR HER THOUGHTS.........MAKES YOU FEEL CHEATED WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR PAPER MONEY TODAY..........

[EgCollector]

Cant compete with you guys  but i love the drawings on these notes 
Keep them coming and thanks for sharing 

[EgCollector]

MAKES YOU FEEL CHEATED WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR PAPER MONEY TODAY

i agree, seems that every thing in the past was done with more precision and skill than today. People used to put some effort and love what they do, but today everything is like fast food .......  

[Nighthawk]

Agreed Amr. You are exactly right. Everything today is FAST, FAST, FAST! My advice: SLOW DOWN the pace a wee bit, take time to smell the ROSES, and ENJOY LIFE! Why pile all the stress upon yourself when you don't need to? God willing, I plan to live to at least 100! I'm taking my time.........   

[scottishmoney]

One of those mysteriously enigmatic notes that appears from time to time in auctions.  In the European pursuit of colonialising Africa during the early 20th century four world powers sought one of the crown jewels based on location.  We all know in real estate that location location location is key to property.  And one side of the Pillars of Hercules, Straits of Gibraltar lay Gibraltar(zealously controlled by Great Britain) and Spain of course.  The other side, in what is now Morocco, was pursued by France, Great Britain, Spain, and Germany.

Of course nobody asked or really cared what the residents in what is now Morocco thought, and they rebelled with the assistance of an adventurous Englishman, Captain C. Gardiner pursued independence of the Europeans:



The government of the Riff existed for a brief period in the early 1920's before having been defeated by the Spaniards.  Captain Gardner took it upon himself to print these notes, which is quite apparent that they were printed in Great Britain with references in English and to English money and curiously not pesetas.