Finished cataloging my banknote collection. I’m interested to see what other people’s collection looks like.

Should I quit collecting banknotes because I feel guilty spending money on my hobby?

I'm a banknote collector from Morocco, and collecting banknotes from different countries has become an important hobby for me. I love discovering the history and currencies of different places, and one of my dreams is to collect banknotes from as many countries as possible.

Recently, I've started questioning whether I should continue.

The reason is that there are people in the world who don't even have enough money to buy food, while I'm spending my money on pieces of paper that I don't actually need. I know collecting makes me happy, but sometimes I feel guilty knowing that the same money could help someone who is struggling to survive.

I'm not rich, so I can't make a huge difference, but I could use some of my hobby money to help others instead.

I don't want to make this post just to receive reassurance. I genuinely want to hear different opinions.

Do you think it's morally wrong to spend money on a hobby when other people are suffering? Would you quit collecting, reduce your spending, donate some money, or continue without feeling guilty?

I'd appreciate honest opinions, even if you disagree with me.

I found the bottom one by chance and was very pleased with the banknote number. All that’s missing is Sochi and FIFA.

New beautiful banknotes from my favourite eBay seller

-Kazakhstan 1000 Tenge 2025

-Eastern Caribbean 2 Dollars 2023

-Sudan 2000 Pounds 2026

-Solomon Islands 10 dollars 2023

-Belize 2 Dollar 2025

-Nigerian 100 Naira 2026

-Samoa 5 Tālā 2023

-Lebanon 100,000 Livres 2023

-Mauritania 1000 Ouguiya 2014

First one is souvenir banknote

While looking through some old stuff, I found a bunch of banknotes from the Weimar Republik and the Kaiserreich. I really like the Tausend Mark Schein with the ,,Eine Milliarde Mark" (One Billion Mark) printed on it in Red (inflation Money from 1923 probably).

There are over 25 20-Mark, 10 100-Mark and 2 1000-Mark notes from the Kaiserreich, which look really beautiful.

I bought a few banknotes from a bargain box at the Kuala Lumpur International Numismatic Fair (KLINF) today.

They don't have any special significance, I mainly just liked the designs, although I do have a bit of a collection of Japanese occupation notes. I especially like the Roman theme of the Syrian banknote.

2026

5,000 - 2,000 - 1,000 - 500 - 100 - 50 pounds

1,5,10 Riyals
And the old one for King Abdullah

From top to bottom:

Hungary 500 Forint (2010)

USSR 5 Rubles (1938)

Netherlands 1 Gulden Silver Certificate (1938)

Austria 20 Schillings (1986)

Honduras 1 Lempira (2010)

One of the oldest banknotes I own is Colonial Currency

20,50,100 Rupees

From 1997 and 1998