Paper money covers an enormously large field. Collectors can be broadly divided into two major categories, U.S. currency or world paper money (WPM). Within each category, one can be either a general collector or a specialized collector. The goal of a general collector is to collect a sample of everything, whereas the goal of a specialized collector is to collect everything available in that specialized area. Examples of specialized areas are: Notes with 3 dollar denomination, Confederate currencies, banknotes with pictures of trains, notes with pictures of QE-II, and French Africa banknotes.

I have been a WPM collector since 1991. My goal is to collect at least one note from each country. My collection consists of 1130 different notes from 275 countries. So far I have at least one note from every country currently issuing notes. However, I'm still missing 14 countries. These are mainly the ones which are either no longer exist or are not currently issuing their own notes.

I'm looking for the following 14 countries to complete my collection:
Dahomey, French Sudan, German New Guinea, Gilbert & Ellice Islands, Grenada (1920 Issue), Hejaz, Isles of France & of Bourbon, Kiau Chau, Leeward Islands (1921 Issue), Madeira Islands, St. Lucia (1920 Issue), Tangier, Turks & Caicos Islands, and Upper Senegal & Niger

I also collect U.S. obsolete banknotes and U. S. civil war era notes. Again, my goal is to collect at least one note from each state.

The term obsolete banknotes applies to all notes not backed by the Federal Government. These were issued by private banks, states, cities, counties, private companies and even individual merchants.

Civil War notes were notes issued by the Confederate and Southern States to support the Civil War. They may be considered a sub-category of obsolete notes.

Top 15 Here you will find the top 15 most valuable notes in my collection.

Country Index The index covers all officially known note-issuing countries, past and present, in alphabetical order. There are 289 countries. The term "country" is used loosely here to mean any recognized note-issuing authority. For example, Central African States is counted as a "country" even though it's only a bank that issues common currencies for member states. However, following the practice of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Taiwan is not counted as a separate country, but is listed under China; Antigua, Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, Monserrat, St. Kitts and St. Vincent are counted as one "country" under East Caribbean States; The independent states of Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Toga are counted as one "country" under West African States.

Paper Money Trivia Here you will find some interesting tidbits concerning paper money.

Links Here are some of my favorate links to other paper money related sites.