BEHIND THE BANK NOTE
For this issue, I have invited Jay Recher, Research Manager at Paper Money Guaranty, to share some of his thoughts on collecting bank notes.
Q. What inspired you to become a bank note researcher?
A. I’ve always been drawn to learning and I enjoy solving puzzles. In my position at PMG, I’m constantly learning something new—which satisfies my thirst for knowledge. PMG has graded more than 4.5 million bank notes from nearly every country, so we are constantly seeing new and interesting notes.
Q. Do you also collect bank notes?
Yes. My collection consists of mainly two types of notes: any note depicting playing cards (clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades) and Nebraska obsolete notes. I wrote a book on, which I self-published in 2015. But my favorite notes are my French Playing Card Money with advertising on the back. Playing cards have been used as an emergency currency in France and French colonies, particularly Canada. (As an aside, while many PMG employees collect, we are prohibited from dealing to help ensure impartiality.)
