Circulated or Uncirculated?

I have often wondered how collectors decide what to collect. Something that has come up several times is UNC vs. Circulated notes.

Some collectors insist on UNC only (which is how I started collecting), but it is interesting that there are now several customers who seem to want “used” notes. I think this is more common for collecting older notes, but still it is an interesting point in the banknote collecting world – I think?

UNC notes are crisp, clean, and have vibrant coloration (and being someone who loves the brightly colored notes – I really like this aspect). Also, they are usually, not always, newer issue notes. However, with circulated notes however, it is fascinating to think of the people who have handled these notes. I wonder sometimes, what did they purchase with this note? What sort of lives did/are they living?

It is interesting that sometimes I go into a store and pay with cash and think – where will this note end up. I am pretty sure it won’t end up in a collector’s collection, but I am sure the person in that country when they spent their Kwacha, or Ringgit, they never expected this note to end up in someone’s collection – probably thousands of miles away.

So to this end, I thought a fun little survey would be interesting.  If you feel inclined, I would love to get some votes in to see what others think.

Thank you for your vote.