Until last year, I was buying many banknotes on ebay and from money fairs and I was paying thousands of dollars, thinking that I have brought the best banknotes. I smelled, I looked against the light, I scanned over the colour and convinced that what I brought were unwashed note.
That was until last year when I travelled to Italy and met up with some optical lens experts and were taught that a "black" UV light ( just like the CSI movies) can detect any chemical residue left behind on any surface if there were some cleaning. I then purchased a UV photochromic activator torch ( just like the one in the images here) and shone it on some of my precious banknotes.
Oh my gosh!!! I discovered that at least 20% of my "treasure" were chemically washed, especially those banknotes that I brought through ebay Singapore and even from reputed retailers. I was so heart broken that I almost gave up my banknotes collection... because there are so many dishonest seller out there.
ARE YOU VERY SURE THAT YOUR BANKNOTES ARE NOT CHEMICALLY WASHED??? If you are not sure, I would suggest you get hold of this UV Photochromic Activator to prove it to yourself and I am praying that you are right.....
I have purchased only 5 pieces of these torch and I brought it for Euro 55 each last year. If you want, I can sell them at the same cost but you just pay for the postage and the 5% paypal transaction fee because.. I DON'T WANT YOU TO CONTINUE BUYING CHEMICALLY WASHED BANKNOTE FOREVER.
The next time you go to a money fair or buying online, you can just carry it along (only about 10cm long) and scan every banknotes before you buy them.. and if the sellers don't allow you to scan the banknotes, you better stay clear from them.
IT WILL SAVE YOU THOUSAND OF DOLLARS IN THE FUTURE, TRUST ME!!!
I AM VERY SURE THAT ALL THE BANKNOTES SELLERS WILL HATE ME FOR THIS!!!
By the way, this is not the same torch that you buy at the roadside UV light-torch.. This is the "Black) low UV Activator!!
