Gradually, Then Suddenly
ZIM98, 2009, 500 ZWL

Slot Comment:

4th Dollar Banknote AA Prefix - Sequential Notes

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Note Details

  

Set Details
Note Description: 500 Dollars 2009
Grade: 66 EPQ
Country: Zimbabwe
Note Number: ZIM98
Signatures/
Vignettes: 		- Sign. #8
Certification #: 1804776-014
Owner: Revenant
Set Category: World
Set Name: Gradually, Then Suddenly
Slot Name: ZIM98, 2009, 500 ZWL
Research: See PMG's Census Report for this Note

Owner's Description

Sequential notes can be a big deal with note collecting and having a pair of highly graded notes with sequential serial numbers can help notes fetch quite a premium in some cases – the Zimbabwean 3rd dollars (mostly the later issues) and 4th dollars are not one of those cases.

By the time these notes were released, even though the currency wasn’t abandoned / suspended / demonetized yet, the people of the country had already mostly abandoned it and the “dollarization” of the economy was mostly complete by late 2008.

As a result, most of the people getting these notes weren’t spending them. They were selling them to tourists and collectors. The number of these notes that were snapped up in uncirculated or almost uncirculated condition seems to be pretty staggering. 10 years later, people are still selling them in unbroken bundles of 100 or even 500 notes. So getting large numbers of these things in sequentially numbered groups is not really all that hard.

As a result, sequentially numbered Zimbabwean notes do not appear to garner a premium. When I picked up this pair of $500 notes, they sold for cheaper on average than if I’d just tried to buy a single 66 EPQ graded example. They cost barely more than what I could have paid for a single 66 EPQ graded example from another dealer – Why? I can only assume that most of those who collect these as graded notes (and we are a distinct minority from what I can tell) only want one graded note for each denomination / pick. They have no interest in having two, so it’s almost impossible to get them to fork over more cash to get a 2nd, even if it is part of a sequentially numbered pair.

Having said that, I will admit though that getting the deal I got on these took some patience and came after taking losses on several similar pairs of notes – I’m assuming because I had to get in line behind some people that are collecting these just a hair more aggressively than me. I came in 2nd in several auctions before giving up. Part of the problem I’ve always had with going hard for a set of these up to this point was it made more sense to go for more of the 1st dollar and 3rd dollar notes I needed that have been available on the cheap.

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