What are “primary notes, … commercial and negotiable instruments, private paper, … [and] substantive assets?

These are all terms associated with various forms of paper “money” — different ways to invest, different ways to grow the worth of your assets.  Substantive assets:  substantive = having substance, real rather than apparent.  For example, you can either purchase a paper instrument that says you have ownership of gold, or you can purchase and hold actual gold.  The former is a paper asset, the latter is substantive asset.