One of the more interesting lotteries was held in Czechoslovakia in June 1935 to benefit the nation’s athletes participating in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Although they had very similar names, the Bank of the State of Indiana and the State Bank of Indiana were different entities, and both were legitimate.

Mongolia long ago provided the answer to the modern “tiny house” trend with the portable tent known as a yurt, seen on the back of Mongolia’s 500-tugrik note.

During periods of economic panic, banks had to deal with shortages of coinage caused by a rush of demand, an event shown in a contemporaneous image.

Germany’s social welfare program known as Winterhilfswerk (Winter Help Work) issued certificates in an effort to keep the citizens from starving and freezing.

Engraver and inventor Waterman L. Ormsby always tended to be close by when it came time to produce notes for customers that “weren’t quite right.”

Sometimes a watermark becomes visibly damaged, as with this South Carolina note from the 1850s.

Obsolete notes can sometimes contain unexpected designs. A vignette on a Bank of Louisiana $20 note recalls the ancient times.

Let’s say you’re collecting topically, like notes with locomotives or steamboats or Indians. A number of specialty volumes complement the basic state catalogs.

Obsolete notes and scrip were issued by thousands of issuers, but several references offer guidance for collectors beginning to explore this subject.