YT Videos: "the Good, the Bad & the Ugly."

Although I only find about 10-20% of the content on social media interesting, I enjoy breezing through it b/c its shop-talk for me. And I really enjoy watching the odd Youtube video(s) that have been shared.  What do you think? Share some of your favourites or not-so-favourite videos on banknote collecting  (or collections/sets).  Here is a link I have created on some of the SOCIAL MEDIA around banknotes.

Some of these videos are super & educational but others are not really educational at all. And yet, they're still exceptional & compliment our hobby because they're so professionally edited with cool sound effects & visuals, that they're captivating in a quirky way. I'm thinking of Halfasleep Chris (about 4 years ago when he wasn't posting about his cat)! I'd consider these the 'bad @ss' (but never in a bad (negative) way but more in a good/fun, I want to see more way). They show security features or hidden secrets & enough “goodies” that they may actually hook people into our hobby. 

But I also enjoy perusing the “f-ugly videos” which for me are usually a tour of the person's banknote album. Often the camera's bouncing around and the pages fly faster than you can view them b/c the owner has such a thick album with tons of notes (falling out of the pockets). There's rarely sleeves on the notes naturally & often a big wads of them (Oh & don't forget those rare consecutive serial numbers!) Then we get a look at the local coupons, the zero Euros & other Amazon gold foil “stuff” they have amassed on their “collecting journey.” Yes, the lighting is bad (or inconsistent) & the narrative is full of “ums” burps & whatnot.

I would call most of these videos (especially ones of the person's 10-20 albums) a window into a person's horde. Most of these content creators say things like “I don't collect for value: I just have to have it,” or “ they're not in the best shape but at least I have one with that colour.”   For me, these f-ugly videos are educational too b/c they highlight a haphazard zero guidelines approach. Their only guiding principle is “gotta have this one.”  One of the funniest things I love about these videos is the request for feedback & to let him/her know if you spot any “gems” in their 18 binders (especially when they state that is not how they collect)!

I'm not looking to criticize (or target) anyone's video.  I do admire anyone who takes the time to put a video together. I just thought it may be somewhat educational & fun if we step back to consider which ones we love & the others that have taught us something offhand.  Do you see any irony in any of these?

I have really enjoyed Caledonian Coins Scottish Banknote Album & his channel has other some other videos filled with banknote “eye candy.” His enthusiastic narrative is quite humorous. My only quibble would be his lack of currency sleeves (which he admits) on such nice tough Scottish banknotes! 

In the past, I have also found this Victor Collection channel to be quite good/entertaining (shows a very wide assortment of World Banknotes).  He has put playlists on his channel now so that is useful.  

His collection from France is probably one of the most popularly viewed videos (& it contains some real larget artistic beauties).  No commentary (other than the 2 thumbs up) but I like the way he has his notes in sleeves or protected somehow. He (& “his friend”) must have sunk a small fortune on most of his big banknotes. 

Numismatic notes by Benjamin.

He is the Oklahoman here on Numista. He gives numismatic information about notes as well as his personal experiences with them. Maybe he has not answered for self promotion reasons. I have followed him maybe from the beginning. Let's get behind him.

ThePoet

Numismatic notes by Benjamin.

He is the Oklahoman here on Numista. He gives numismatic information about notes as well as his personal experiences with them. Maybe he has not answered for self promotion reasons. I have followed him maybe from the beginning. Let's get behind him.

+1

Absolutely! I did not know about Numista until I saw his video “Numista now does banknotes!”  I think my collection grew significantly from watching many of his episodes. Lots of great information & stories he shares. Hope every collector out there checks it out!

Great reminder! Thanks for your input @ThePoet!

I have been watching several coin dealer videos & they've been interesting (to see how the other part of the hobby works).  There are several good ones to watch on grading, how to approach a dealer about selling your coins, etc. (Too many to mention here & I did not start this thread to go down this rabbit hole). I enjoyed all the eye candy & particularly a video that covered the Singapore International Coin Fair. 

On a more distressing note, I am dismayed at the number of content creators who don't put their UNC (& sometimes rare/valuable) notes in a currency sleeve.  I have actually seen countless videos of fantastic jaw-dropping collections, complete rare colonial sets, but no sleeve! It boggles my mind!  Sometimes, I wonder if viewers send the creator a video of his/her collection b/c I will see a video with notes sleeved (well protected) & then another with no sleeves, unprotected for newer polymer notes, for example. Here's one of  Worldscoolestbanknotes INTRO to collecting that demonstrates sleeves & some great tips (but in other videos on his channel: notes have no sleeves).

Another channel was very sensational about how much money could be made with “fancy serials” such as “trinaries” & “broken ladders!” “Trinaries” are notes with 3 of a kind, so AAA,BB,CCC (for an 8 digit note) would qualify & broken ladders are just a scramble of different digits like ADHCGBFI ! I have never met anyone who collects random numbers like this & was amazed that there was also other spurious “fancy numbers” I have seen on some social media but never in someone's collection.  There were some good explanations of solid radars (palindromes), low #, million #, repeaters & rotators (which he called “flippers”) but I wish he didn't embellish on the ladders (by giving the breakdown of every possible ladder & then explain a “true ladder.”)

Over the past month I have watched quite a few YT videos on coin collecting, coin dealers, rare & valuable US banknotes & some ASMR videos (collectors going through their World notes).  There are not a lot of World banknote videos so I had to search other channels and get some insight into the collecting hobby as a whole.  I have enjoyed & related to some of the “ASMR videos” too while a few others have helped me prepare me for a good night's sleep. 😐 

I always think its nice just to see what others collect (& how they collect re: binders, sleeves & supplies). I also enjoyed seeing the odd dealer videos but the banknote dealer results were just the usual suspects (for the most part). I still find it remarkable that some collectors (& dealers) have these expensive UNC notes, but no sleeves. 

Here this European collector/dealer who has some interesting sets (& an extensive collection) but I am not a fan of how she handles her UNC (Austrian 20 Kronen, low Jersey # sets, etc) or the way she has her notes displayed in her tall-paged, binders, but to each his/her own! 

My favourite channel is this Burkina2011 channel which highlights a lot of great sets.    This collector has done an amazing job of diversifying his channel so its not all “Show & Tell” but he's also released videos on auction houses, seasonal pick ups, and top ranked note sales from eBay or a big auction house. He could slow down the flipping of pages somewhat (or make a feature video like Benjamin did) since some of his large sized sets (from Algeria, France or Belgian Congo) are outstanding.  All in all, that's all I can find fault with his channel & overall its worth the time to check it out.

Today, I just discovered another fun channel called Polar Currency. 

Dan has done a great job of showing a banknote's lowest denomination & giving a little context on the banknote's design elements (background to the people featured, etc).  He has covered the Western Hemisphere (North & South American nations) plus a video on Euros & UK notes. I also enjoyed his interview with another YT'er (World banknote expert) “Numismatic Ben” who gives a shoutout to this Numista site. Dan also has covered a lot of YT content on US/BEP currency. He's really worth the time to check out.😀

Serial_Number_8

Today, I just discovered another fun channel called Polar Currency. 

 

Dan has done a great job of showing a banknote's lowest denomination & giving a little context on the banknote's design elements (background to the people featured, etc).  He has covered the Western Hemisphere (North & South American nations) plus a video on Euros & UK notes. I also enjoyed his interview with another YT'er (World banknote expert) “Numismatic Ben” who gives a shoutout to this Numista site. Dan also has covered a lot of YT content on US/BEP currency. He's really worth the time to check out.😀

Great, you completely ruined my plans for today to turn in at a reasonable time for once.

Jokes aside, thanks a lot for posting these, some great content! 

Jokes aside, thanks a lot for posting these, some great content! 

😇 I'm glad you found some of Polar Currency's content interesting @53th0s  

If you discover anything on YT (or eslewhere) be sure to add it here!

Here's another cool new channel called, History in your wallet & the creator adds some great background info on his notes! Enjoy!