The Obsolete Paper Money Of Virginia by Charles J. Affleck

By: Handini

The book The Obsolete Paper Money Of Virginia by Charles J. Affleck was published in 1968 by The Virginia Numismatic Association. It consists of 2 volumes and encompasses notes from the state of Virginia, which includes banks in West Virginia. It is an expensive book which will generally cost between $150 to $200 for both volumes but is well worth the purchase to a collector who is interested in obsolete notes from VA and WVA.

What is nice about this book is that it includes some color plates of some of the Bank Notes but most are still black and white. Volume 1 comprises Virginia Treasury Notes, County Notes, City and Town Notes, and Private and Business Scrip. Volume 2, on the other hand, lists the Obsolete BankNotes. It also has a portrait of Charles J. Affleck about 4 pages into the volume.

On the inside of the front cover of my copy of Volume 2 is a plaque which reads:

"The "Obsolete Paper Money Of Virginia Volume II"

consists of 1000 numbered copies.

This is copy number

232

and belongs to

_________________________________________

Consequently, my edition of Volume 2 is one of 1000 copies. One thing to note however is that my copy of the book has two different publication dates. For me, Volume 1 is from 1968 and Volume 2 is from 1969. A quick search on the internet also reveals that signed copies are not that rare and don't command a premium. Nevertheless, it's one thing to look for if one decides to purchase this book.

Another thing to note is that this book uses an 8 point scale rather than the more prevalent 7 point scale for rarity estimates on the banknotes and scrip.

R 1        ∞ – 200 notes known to exist

R 2     100 – 200 notes known to exist

R 3       50 – 100 notes known to exist

R 4       25 –   50 notes known to exist

R 5       10 –   25 notes known to exist

R 6         5 –   10 notes known to exist

R 7         2 –     5 notes known to exist

R 8                    1 note known to exist

The only difference between the 8 point scale used by Affleck and the 7 point scale used by books on other states currencies is that the 8 designation indicates that only 1 note is known to exist.