Collectors see gold in old coins and bank notes

Chew (right) showing Lim a RM1,000 bank note printed in 1976 now worth RM15,000.

NUMISMATIST Michael Chew left his job as an animation director and lecturer to pursue his interest in collecting and trading coins and paper monies some 10 years ago.

He made the bold move when a friend approached him to help her sell off her late father’s stamp collection.

Chew then started to trade and collect old bank notes and coins and he has never looked back since.

“It was really good money helping my friend sell the stamps. So after that, I tried my hands in trading old coins and old bank notes.

“I’ve been actively buying and selling for the past 10 years and I’m enjoying it,” he said.

Chew said before selling the bank notes, he would first have to send it to a professional paper money grading company in Florida for its grade to be determined under the Sheldon Scale.

“The higher the grade, the more it is worth,” he said, adding that the highest numeric grade was 70.

Wee’s set of specimen notes from RM1 to RM1,000 which he bought in an auction held in the UK now worth RM200,000.

Chew said a bank note with a grade of over 60 was usually not in circulation and in mint condition.

Chew was one of the 36 exhibitors during the two-day numismatic and stamp fair held at Megamal Pinang in Seberang Prai.

Even before the fair started, a collector had already called Chew to reserve a RM1,000 bank note printed in 1976 which was worth RM15,000.

Three months ago, he sold a similar bank note for RM80,000 as it carried a grade of 67, which was only three points away from being perfect.

Chew also runs a coin-grading company called Wanglama Collection Enterprise in the Klang Valley.

Besides old bank notes and coins, Chew also has a huge collection of rare stamps and first-day covers.

Among those are a set of Sultan of Kedah stamps issued in the 1940s which is worth RM1,380.

A few booths away, Singaporean Wee Soon Chen, 35, was proudly displaying his collection of bank notes from RM1 to RM1,000.

He said specimen notes were worth much more than normal bank notes as they were very rare in the market.

“A whole set of specimen notes which I bought at an auction in UK is now worth RM200,000.”

Organising chairman Richard Lim hoped the inaugural exhibition would encourage more people especially the younger generation to appreciate and treasure old bank notes and stamps.

“When it comes to old stamps and bank notes, many think that it’s a hobby which would only interest older people.

“We want to get past that perception. We want more younger people to get involved,” Lim said, adding that a similar fair would be held in Malacca soon.