The study and collection of currency is called numismatics. It is a fascinating hobby, and though I am only the most inexperienced of amateurs, I hope to one day possess such a varied treasure trove of notes. Notes not bought or traded, but painstakingly collected in the country of their origin, tucked away before crossing a border to somewhere else.
To see such an impressive collection is an inspiration. They invoke a feeling a possibility and wonder; they prove the world to be an endlessly, fascinatingly dissimilar place. Seeing so many together is like standing in front of a departure board at an international airport with a packed bag by your side. They're vibrant little windows into the brilliant collection of cultures this world has to offer; a kaleidoscope of fascinating adventure. They're appetizers, made from a mix of history and culture and language and land, of a hundred far flung places so foreign that they can barely be imagined at all. But they somehow exist, if evidenced only by the presence of that colorful piece of paper, and that means you can go there. And try to understand the people you find.
