Banknote Collecting Guides

Practical guides for banknote collectors, written by the team at Extreme Banknotes in Hungary. Whether you are buying your first note or hunting for a record-breaking hyperinflation piece, start here.

Getting started

• Why collect banknotes? – what makes paper money worth collecting: history, scarcity and real price data.
• How to start collecting banknotes – the terms, condition grades and handling basics every new collector needs.
• The Extreme Index explained – how we score every note for history, scarcity, wow factor, age and condition.

History and hyperinflation

• Hungary's hyperinflation of 1945–46 – the worst inflation in recorded history and the notes it left behind.
• Pengő vs milpengő vs B.-pengő – a note-by-note collector's guide to every 1946 Hungarian hyperinflation note, with Pick numbers.
• The rise of polymer banknotes – why more and more countries print their money on plastic.

Shop by topic

Ready to buy? Browse hyperinflation banknotes, bundles and starter packs, uncirculated notes or PMG-graded notes. Questions about ordering or shipping are answered in our FAQ.