Bank notes and their threads

[lacey]

I have some paper notes that I would like to list.  My problem is, the threads.  In the book, they have prices for centre threads and side threads.  The middle of the note is 80mm but the thread on this note is not in the centre or on the side.  it's 54mm from the edge of the note on the left hand side.

The next note, still $20 paper, has the thread a bit more to the centre.Then there's a $2 note with similar thread placement.


So my question is, do I advertise it has a centre thread or side thread?

[Goldseeker]

I would advertise it precisely as you have described it above.

Let the buyers deem it a side/centre thread.

[stevo1962]

Hold it up to the light and take a photo for the listing.That will show exactly where the thread is

[lacey]

Thanks guys, both good ideas.
Is the front of the note, the side with the numbers?

[Sapyx]

"Centre threads" aren't exactly in the centre; since notes often got folded in half, a thread exactly on the halfway-line would create a weak spot, making the note more prone to tearing in half at that line. They moved it from "centre" to "side" because "centre" was still too close to the actual centre and causing fold weakness.

Perhaps the easiest way to tell the difference is to compare your note with a non-Knight-Wheeler type, since it is only on Knight-Wheelers that the issue arises. All earlier notes should be "centre", and all later notes "side". I own three "centre thread" notes and the threads on them are at 74, 74 and 70mm; on the six "side thread" notes I have, the thread position is always in the 50-60mm range. So it is safe to conclude your notes in that same range are "side thread".

Is the front of the note, the side with the numbers?

Yes. More specifically, the "front" of a banknote is the side that has the signatures and/or the "legal document" phrasing  - "I promise to pay the bearer", "Legal tender for all debts", "for the Governor and Company of the Bank", that sort of thing. On most Australian paper notes (but not the paper $100 nor the polymer notes), this is also the side that bears the serial numbers.

[lacey]

Thanks for that Sapyx.  Can you tell me why the book value is higher for the side thread than the centre thread?

[Sapyx]

Presumably because there's fewer of them?