2 questions about banknote collecting.

[Sp3nc3r]

1. Whenever I look at a listing, there are always these strings of letters and numbers. i.e BC-30a. What do these mean?

2. If you have, what is your experience with selling on ebay? Also, do you have any tips? I am relatively new to coin collecting, (started in about October 2023) and even newer to Banknote collecting, (Started about 1-2 months ago) so I don't have that large of a collection yet. Because of this, I am looking for guidance on also selling, in order to grow my collection.

[TBH]

They are the Charlton Catalog numbers.
Before you buy or sell any banknote you need a copy of Charlton's, otherwise you are collecting with your eyes closed.
Same goes for coins.

[HANDI1]

Why are you concerned about selling banknotes when you're 1-2 months into it?

[Sp3nc3r]

More so using for buying. Also I coin roll hunt daily with my friend so I have already accumulated a fairly decent sized coin collection. I will probably check the price for a charlton.

[Nota_phil]

Here's a thread I started on the Paper Money Forum (it is a US-based banknote forum) on TIPS selling on eBay:
https://www.papermoneyforum.com/post/ti ... 1336730619

Like @HANDI1, I am a bit puzzled why you'd wish to learn about selling on eBay if you've just started collecting coins (& more recently paper) but there it is. Selling on eBay can be quite expensive (listing fees + final sale fees) & tough if you don't sell in volume since your items may not get the exposure you'd like. When I started out I bought 99% of my notes for much less off fellow collectors (that's why I started selling my doubles):
https://sites.google.com/view/notaphily ... -available

Before I bought my first Charlton, I went to the Reference section of our public library & poured through one of the early editions. I really recommend buying a used copy starting out (which you could pick up on eBay or a LCS) since the new editions are pretty expensive & the BV's don't go up that much.

[Sp3nc3r]

I have a fairly small rural library. It’s possible but I will also check eBay. One of the hardest parts of being a collector is I don’t have a lcs

[Sp3nc3r]

Also when I went bank searching, I got about 35 birds of Canada $2 and also 2 $100 Canadian journey. So I have a lot of doubles

[Nota_phil]

You might want to consider registering & entering your notes on Numista. Once you've done that & have participated on their forum for a while, you may also wish to swap notes (which the site allows) with fellow members.

See:
https://en.numista.com/

[Sp3nc3r]

I’ll check it out.

[Nota_phil]

I have a fairly small rural library. It’s possible but I will also check eBay. One of the hardest parts of being a collector is I don’t have a lcs

The nearest LCS to me is over 1 hour drive from where I live. I went 2 years ago to get some large currency sleeves. If I buy the sleeves by bulk, I save on the postage by picking them up in person. I looked at his bargain bin & bought 1 rotator serial # $1.00 from Bahamas which I needed & he had listed for a fair price (a lot of dealers are coin people first so don't recognize special serial numbers). This surprised me as most coin shops I've frequented have overpriced & over graded items. The majority of his items were over graded & overpriced but the rotator was perfect. I have checked many coin shops on my travels & I have always marvelled at how they survive since their prices are sky high (& items over graded) compared to eBay. I guess they survive on the RCM mint stuff, supplies & collectors unwilling to try eBay. My point is: you're not missing a lot!

There are a lot of good eBay sellers but you do have to be careful. Do some homework first. You'd be wise to pick up a Charlton to get an idea what you want (& what's out there) or you will be going shopping "blind" as @TBH suggests. I would first make sure you get familiar with whatever you are looking for (the series signature variation, etc) & on the different levels of grades (UNC, AU, EF, etc). Personally, I'd avoid the 1867-1967 Confederation $1.00, 1973 $1.00 & the BIRDS $2.00/$5.00 unless they're replacements & in UNC. Billions (or near billions) were issued & there's just no end to them....

When I started out I shopped eBay but that was when almost everything was auction style (rather than Buy it Now or BIN) so I won most of my items at a fair market price. I have learned to check the seller's feedback (reputation) & tend to buy from "Power sellers," I've used before.

I also benefited by meeting fellow collectors & buying at least 50% of my notes from them (for much better than had I bought on eBay) always for the same (older series) or less than Charlton. That is why I am trying to help new collectors by selling some of my extras:
https://sites.google.com/view/notaphily ... -available