By Neil Shafer, Bank Note Reporter November 04, 2009

Part 2

Last month you saw the top half of a listing I prepared that includes all the local and private issues from the 1899 period in Guatemala that I have ever seen or heard of. 

This listing, the first truly comprehensive effort on this particular subject, will hopefully bring out other issues presently unknown, at least to me, and perhaps will ultimately be used as part of a larger study of the whole field of private and local currencies.

The truth is that a great many collectors—even some who have been active for years—know little about such issues and in some instances care even less. In my view I would say they are totally missing out on what are in reality little revolutions, as they are usually made independent of any legal or government authorization, yet they are accepted as local money. Also, at times they become acceptable in a much wider area than envisioned by the original issuer. As I stated last month, the people will step in as a matter of necessity to fill a void caused by government neglect or other unavoidable circumstances.

There is also another truth that must be mentioned here. In ever-increasing numbers, some authors have been able to publish the results of their years of study documenting the various local and private issues in their areas of specialization. This phenomenon is fairly recent in its development. To be sure, there were some early studies, especially with regard to the huge areas of German and Austrian notgeld issues of the World War I period, but any others were few and far between.

Some of the other earlier works included coverage (sometimes limited) of China, Estonia, France, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spanish Civil War, and a partial listing of Brazil from the 1890s. As the collecting of world paper money began to show real advancement, additional authors and researchers turned their attention seriously to the private and local issues from a number of other areas.

Books published within the last few years deal with countries like Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, and updates for France, Mexico, Poland and Russia. I’m sure there are others that don’t come to mind at the moment; the main point is that there is much more activity in researching and publishing information on private and local issues at present than at any time before.

Sadly, except for Mexico, the one area that has so far been almost totally neglected is Latin America. As indicated previously, there was only partial coverage of Brazilian issues from the 1890s, and as far as I know that is the sum total of all the data I am aware of from this area. I have tried to do my part, as a few months ago I published in this column what I believe is the first ever listing of Chilean mining scrip. And this particular article is finishing another first, the most comprehensive listing of local Guatemala issues of the 1890s ever compiled. It is only by putting together the little bits and pieces we do know about that something at least somewhat comprehensive may someday emerge.

I will close with a few words about the relative rarity of a great many local and private issues. It does appear that a large majority of these notes have been found to be extremely elusive. This situation is understandable for the simple reason that many of them are made under conditions less than ideal, often on inferior paper and with inadequate printing equipment. Moreover, since so many are born of sheer necessity, they are immediately pressed into circulation with no thought of preservation for future collectors or for any reasons of sentiment. Because of their very nature, most are turned in and redeemed as soon as possible.

It stands to reason, therefore, that their rarity rating can become very high, and when found they are quite often in the lower grades, having suffered from heavy use. This fact may also have a dampening effect on their overall collector desirability, especially to those who do not have a strong sense of the circumstances behind the issuance of these pieces and the sheer luck attached to their survival in any condition.

Collectors of tokens have by and large the same problems with survival and condition, yet as a group they tend to accept a given example in any grade, realizing that they may never see another one offered. This thought would apply exactly to similar issues in the paper field. Once that realization is dealt with as it needs to be, then the acceptance of private notes will certainly increase.

More Resources:

• Ultimate Standard Catalog of World Coins 5-CD Set (1600-Present)

• 2010 U.S. Coin Digest, The Complete Guide to Current Market Values

• Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money, 1928 to Date