Birthday Notes
Banknotes whose serial numbers read as a date — collected as personal keepsakes and gifts as much as for numismatic interest.
Birthday and date notes
A birthday note is one whose serial number can be read as a date. Depending on the format, six digits can be read as a day, month and year, which turns an ordinary note into something personal — a birth date, an anniversary, or another date that matters to the recipient.
This is one of the few areas of note collecting driven as much by sentiment as by numismatics, which is why these are so often bought as gifts. It is worth deciding in advance which date format you want, since the same six digits can usually be read more than one way.
Points to consider
- Date format — how the digits are meant to be read.
- Denomination — the same date may be available across several values.
- Condition — an uncirculated note presents far better as a gift.
- Prefix — some collectors want the letters to work with the number too.