IBNS Grading Standards

PAPER AND POLYMER

The IBNS grading standards were initially developed for banknotes manufactured from paper. With the proliferation of banknotes manufactured from polymers, some variation in the grading standards is required when assessing polymer banknotes.

Some particular features of polymer banknotes are:

• Polymer never becomes a"rag" like paper and maintains its quality even in low grades. Rather than becoming"limp" like paper, polymer becomes crumpled with handling and the number of folds
• A crease will not break the sizing, but the sizing and ink on the polymer may flake off. Lower grade notes will have numerous instances of ink missing from the polymer (usually along the edges), leaving the polymer clear
• A crease is more a strong fold, perhaps caused by someone folding the banknote and running their fingers along the fold to make the fold permanent
• Rust does not damage a polymer note in the same way rust affects a paper note
• Edge tears and nicks are uncommon in polymer notes. Usually, a tear on a polymer banknote is catastrophic to the polymer; and a large tear will occur or a piece of the note will be removed
• Polymer notes do not have holes caused by folding or creasing, as do paper notes and holes in polymer notes should be added to the description if they do occur. (Pin holes and staple holes can occur)
• Not having a security thread, there is no damage caused by guillotining the notes
• Polymer notes may be affected by high levels of heat and shrink or melt slightly, but they will not burn or singe. (Significant heat must be applied to a polymer note to distort it, and it is usually not achieved in normal circulation.)

Standard International Grading Terminology and Abbreviations

The following descriptions differentiate attributes for paper and polymer banknotes. However, no matter from what a banknote is manufactured, the grading terminology remains the same.