# Virginia paper money

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-paper-money/272565>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 2, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-paper-money/272565 "2004-11-02T16:32:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-paper-money/272565/1 "2004-11-02T16:32:55Z")

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I have a friend who recently lost his father. In his father’s desk, he’s discovered some old paper money. It’s Virginia Treasury money, pre-revolutionary, issued in pounds and shillings.

Is this likely to have any value?

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**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-paper-money/272565/2 "2004-11-02T16:44:05Z")

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Well here’s the results of an [ebay search for “Virginia Treasury”](http://search.ebay.com/virginia-treasury_W0QQsofocusZbsQQsbrftogZ1QQfromZR10QQsacategoryZ-1Q26catrefQ3DC6QQsotrZ2QQsosortpropertyZ1QQsosortorderZ1). Looks like some of them might fetch a decent price. Of course there’s so many variables with that stuff, and I’m not an expert on anything other eating, so… Hopefully this helps until someone else comes along.

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-paper-money/272565/3 "2004-11-02T16:44:56Z")

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> [@Bricker](#):
>
> Is this likely to have any value?

Value as currency, or from a collector’s point of view?

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**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virginia-paper-money/272565/4 "2004-11-02T16:55:49Z")

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Those ebay results are mostly civil war-era stuff, not pre-revolutionary.

Value from a collector’s point of view depends on two things - condition and scarcity. Sometimes a note you’d think would be extremely rare turns out to be amazingly common, and sometimes vice versa. Basically you’re going to have to talk to an expert on the subject. Check to see if there’s a coin collector shop in your vicinity, which would be a good place to start.