IMPORTANT! Prices subject to change without notice. Postage charges are extra on all orders under $50. Please consult our terms of sale. Please email us at the address below to confirm the price and availability of any item on this page or on any list in this website. We are in the process of updating this page.  Our goal is to list all the notes using Reed catalog numbers from Fred Reed's landmark catalog on the subject.  At the moment, they are only listed by our stock numbers.  Thank you and enjoy the hobby! THE NEW MOVIE PROP NOTE ILLUSTRATED PRICE LIST AT CURRENCYBANKNOTES.COM

INTRODUCTION: Welcome to "The Catalog of The Ellis Props Worldwide Hollywood Movie Money Accumulation." This list is the result of a major purchase of an accumulation of stage notes formerly in the holdings of Ellis Props & Graphics Partners (originally known as Ellis Mercantile). It represents many hours of examination and classification. It should be considered an ongoing work as new types are being added to the list as they are "uncovered" while searching through the group and we are just starting to add in scans of some of the major types. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has more information on any of the items listed herein or on any other movie notes that they have encountered. I would like to acknowledge and thank Verne R. Walrafen, John L. Pieratt, and especially Fred Reed for the information they have provided about certain movie notes.

I like to call the group "The Smithsonian Collection" because it is so vast in terms of there being dozens of types and literally hundreds of varieties of those. I have tried to catalog the major noticeable varieties of each type. However, it should go without saying that many color and minor varieties exist, due to numerous printings of some of these items at different times, probably on different machines and by different individuals, perhaps using different methods. Quality control was oftentimes not a big issue, except perhaps in those cases where there would be a relative close-up shot of a particular note in a scene.

In 2010, we acquired another major accumulation of old prop bills, "the Propman's Collection."  This accumulation, although much smaller than the Ellis group, still contains an interesting assortment of props, including genuine notes, some of which were altered for prop purposes, and some notes that don't appear in Fred's catalog, very exciting stuff.

CONDITION: Condition of the items is generally high but will vary since many of these stage notes appear to actually have been used in films at some time or another and may have a bit of handling (or worse, in some cases). I will generally strive to send VF or better notes when available. In some instances, due to poor paper quality or serious mishandling (perhaps in a Hollywood war scene!), some types of notes just will not be available in a condition normally considered reasonable by the banknote collector.

CLASSIFICATION: This list currently uses a combination letter/numbering stock number system devised by me to keep track of all this stuff, so I can find the ones you want (hopefully!). Each major design type of note has its own letter assigned. As an example, the letter A indicates those notes bearing a strong resemblance to the dual portrait Estado de Sonora Mexican revolution note series featuring Madero on the left and Suarez on the right. Then a number follows the letter, based on the "denomination" and then a small letter to indicate the variety. Thus we can have RJR-A1a, etc., where the RJR indicates the Richard J. Reed list #.

Those familiar with the Pick banknote catalog numbering system should follow this system easily enough. With the RJR numbering system, there is a unique identifier for each variety, i. e. it's not possible to have two different RJR-A1a entries for two different kinds of notes. With the Pick system, a P-1 is found many times, for each country listed.  While useful when I developed it, Fred Reed's catalog and numbering system is really the hobby standard, so I will be attempting to map all of my items to his numbering system.  Some of the Mexican notes have been classified by me to a degree such that some may not be mapable to the varieties listed in the Reed catalog.  So I will probably always retain my introductory stock numbering system for at least the Mexican issues.

PRICING: Pricing is based on availability as well as overall attractiveness (popularity) and quality of the item. What may be scarce in my group may, in fact, be common somewhere else. No way of knowing this due to the lack of significant reference material on these items. Conversely, notes that I may have quantities of may not exist to a great extent elsewhere, I don't know. I have seen some items that I have in the group that are priced quite high elsewhere. On the other hand, I don't think I've encountered any priced below 50 or 75 cents in recent years. Overall, haven't actually seen all that many different movie notes offered, period.  In any event, we advocate the collecting of these items strictly for the pleasure of it. Any indications of rarity, scarcity, etc. of the item is strictly based on the frequency which each item was found in our group without reference/knowledge to what may be available elsewhere.

AUTHENTICITY: Finally, a word about authenticity. How do I know these notes are "genuine" Hollywood movie prop notes? For one thing, with few exceptions, they all were obtained from the same source but are printed in many different colors on different types of paper. Many really do appear to be quite old printings. Secondly, though we paid a substantial sum for these items, I don't believe they could have all been deliberately manufactured using the different inks, papers, etc. and then profitably sold to us for the price that we paid. It would have been far too labor-intensive. Therefore, I am quite confident that yes, all of these items were actually in the prop holdings of Ellis and many, if not all, actually saw use in films and/or television. I did purchase a small group of notes a few years back that were of several different designs but all printed in the exact same ink on the same paper. I believe those are modern copies made from "genuine" movie notes. Each order of notes from the Ellis group will receive a copy of the original Certificate of Authenticity I received with the larger group of stage notes.

TERMS OF SALE: Terms are my usual, including a $2 fixed shipping/handling charge (domestic U. S.) for orders under $50. We ship domestic orders of $50 or more postpaid. Orders of $100 or more may be eligible for a special discount.  Please contact us via e-mail.  I hope you enjoy perusing this listing and find some items of interest!  Please note, items listed in green are not available for purchase.  The item(s) could be sold out or could be the last remaining piece and part of our reference collection.  Thank you for looking!  Rick

RJR-A Type: Directly based on dual portrait Estado de Sonora Mexican revolutionary notes featuring F. I. Madero on the left and J. M. Pino Suarez on the right (Pick catalog # S1069-S1076). The genuine notes upon which these prop bills were based are high quality engravings produced by the American Bank Note Company (ABNC) around 1914.

RJR-B Type: A modified version of the above Estado de Sonora notes but with a large number representing the "denomination" of the note replacing the two portraits and a larger single portrait at the center in the area formerly used for the denomination on the genuine notes and the movie notes of type A. The individual pictured has been identified as Napoleon according to some sources. Of particular interest is that an example of this design is pictured in Carlos Gaytan's Paper Currency of Mexico. The book lists it as a possible proof precursor of the dual portrait type! I believe Mr. Gaytan has portrayed an actual stage note. The serial number is 79541, the same one that appears on all of the stage notes of this type. The denomination of the Gaytan plate note is UNO PESOS (One Pesos). Does this make sense? Hence our skepticism that the Gaytan note is a genuine proof of a banknote. This theory is reinforced by the somewhat cruder nature of this design.

RJR-C Type: Another modified version of the type A design, again with a central portrait, this time featuring J. M. Pino Suarez. This type shows further deviation from the original type A design.

RJR-D Type: Directly based on the Banco del Estado de Chihuahua Mexican 5 peso paper notes featuring the vignette of a miner at center (Pick catalog # S132). The genuine Mexican issues are high quality engravings by ABNC.

RJR-E Type: Directly based on the Banco del Estado de Chihuahua Mexican 10 peso banknotes featuring a well-known cowboy vignette at center (Pick catalog # S-133). Again, the genuine Mexican issues are high quality ABNC engravings.

RJR-F Type: Movie notes of this type were directly based on the popularly encountered and collected Estado de Chihuahua revolutionary notes featuring the portraits of F. I. Madero on the left and A. Gonzalez on the right (Pick catalog # S529 - S538).

RJR-G Type: Faithful reproductions of Philippines/Japanese WWII invasion ten centavo notes

RJR-H Type: Phoney Mazuma black and green Ellis Mercantile movie notes loosely based on the Estado de Sonora revolutionary items of type A. Here the dual portraits are of the same person, unidentified - perhaps Mr. Ellis Zemansky, the proprietor?

RJR-I Type: Colored Phoney Mazuma of distinctly non-Sonoran based designs, generally very crude.

RJR-J Type: The large, impressive, "Jefford's" notes, w/hand-drawn appearance.

RJR-K Type: Phony stage money hand-drawn series featuring a seated lady on the back.

RJR-L Type: Frogskins type hand-drawn series featuring a woman on the front and an eagle on the back.

RJR-M Type: Untied States of Aremica $1 silver certificate hand drawn lookalike with many obvious alterations!

RJR-N Type: Faithful reproductions of Banco de Sonora Mexican 10 Peso notes (Pick catalog # S420r). The genuine originals are gorgeous American Bank Note Co. engravings. A good quantity of genuine 5 and 10 peso Sonora "Bancos" notes were found mixed in with the movie money we purchased and these genuine notes apparently also served as movie notes! We found a couple of 5 peso notes that had been "lowered" (as opposed to raised) to the value of one peso and used as stage notes no doubt!

RJR-O Type: Faithful reproductions of Banco de Sonora Mexican 20 Peso notes (Pick catalog # S421r).

RJR-P Type: Faithful reproductions of Banco de Sonora Mexican 50 Peso notes (Pick catalog # S422r).

RJR-Q Type: "AMERICA" dual Confederate officials portrait notes derived from Mexican & Confederate notes

RJR-R Type: Banco de Sonora 5 Peso note derivatives

RJR-S Type: Banco de Sonora 10 Peso note derivatives

RJR-T Type: U. S. $100 large size silver certificate fantasy note (based on F-346e)

RJR-U Type: U. S. $20 large size gold certificate Washington fantasy note (based on F-1179 to F-1187)

RJR-V Type: U. S. George Washington - eagle - standing Liberty type (based on F-6 to F-10a)

RJR-W Type: U. S. Abraham Lincoln - eagle - standing Liberty type (based on F-6 to F-10a)

RJR-X Type: U. S. small size "Van Buren" $1 notes series 1935E

RJR-Y Type: U. S. small size "bearded man" $1 notes series 1934

RJR-Z Type: U. S. small size series 1934 $1 notes

RJR-AA Type: U. S. small size series 1930M $1 notes

RJR-TA* Type: Italian 1000 lire type of Pick # 82, 83, & 88 but with portrait of "Italia" replaced by that of Hortencia Corral Velez (the girl on the Mexican Sonora "Bancos" series of P-S419-423).

RJR-TB* Type: $50 Confederate Front / 50 Peso Mexican Sonora P-S422 Back type

RJR-TC* Type: Universal Pictures titled notes

RJR-TD* Type: 20th Century-Fox titled notes

RJR-TE* Type: "MOTION PICTURE MONEY" 100 type notes

RJR-TF* Type: Unknown Man with cowboy hat and bowtie "100" notes

RJR-TG* Type: Mexico Sinaloa revolution note replicas

RJR-TH* Type: Republic of Somora "pezos" type

*"permanent" website catalog numbers for these have not been established yet

Note: New types will be added in as more notes are classified.  I probably won't be finished for a long time!
 
 

Holy Smoke!  There's still lots more to come, so keep checking back to see this list e-x-p-a-n-d!