Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-07-20
PAPER MONEY.
THE DIFFERENT KINDS ISSUED ~
VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

ing, said a Nassau street broker, now
many different kinds of paper we use for
currency in the various foreign countries
Each nation seems to have its own
particular kind or brand of paper. Here
is Bank of England note. 1t is printed
on Irish linen water lined paper, plain
white, with rough edges. You win notice
In short time how the paper lacks the
smooth. oily feeling of our own bank
notes. Then, again, there is an alb
sence of any coloring except black and
white. The smallest notes issued by
the Bank of England are of the value of
e5 or S25 The old fashion of sending
these notes from one country to another
was to cut the note into two parts and
send the pieces in separate envelopes. but
that is largely done away with All such
notes finally find their way back to the
Bank of England, where they are retired
for good. They are never reissued, as the
bank only sends out new, clean notes. l
have heard it said that the average life of
a Bank of England note was about three
weeks. A Bank of Ireland note, as you
will see, does not differ much from Bank
of England note, except that it has more
elaborate scroll work.
This note with blue and black letter
ing, together with numerous symboiicai
pictures, is Banque de France. note 1t
is made of plain white paper, and could
be easily initiated. l should think. The
smallest note issued by the banque is a
20f. note. while the largest is the 1,OO0f.,
which is equivalent to about $3.50 in our
money.
Now, the German bills are printed in
green upon paper good deal lighter than
our gold certificates The Austrian paper
currency is printed much the same. The
German bills range in denomination from
five marks, or $1.25, to 10000 marks, or
about $240 of our money. Very few no.
tice at first glance that the Austrian bills
are printed in German on one side and in
Hungarian on the other. This is done, as
l understand, to accommodate the ten
classes of Francis Joseph's subjects,
The paper of an Austrian bill is very
light colored, but quite thick and tough.
1t has none of the fine lines nor the silk
fiber marks which are the characteristics
of our national or United States treasury
notes. The smallest Austrian note is of
the value of, one guilder or form, nearly
40 cents here. The largest note issued is
of the value of 1 900 forms, or $685. in
our money. The engraver must have
been of a religious turn of mind, if all the
angel heads on these notes are of any in
dication.
Some European countries get up their
notes regardless of colored ink. Thus the
Italian l 900 lire note is an elaborate af-
fair. The paper is plain white, but the
printing is done in pink, blue and car
mine Here is one which has a very
finely engraved vignette of King Hum
bert, and the scroll work will compare
4 4, h. lot 6
The smaller Italian bills are about the
same size as our old fractional currency.
They vary in denomination from one lire,
or 20 cents, to 10 lire or about SO in our
money
Here, perhaps. is the most gorgeously
colored bank note of any European coun-
try 1t is Russian 100 ruble bill 1t
has almost every color of the rainbow,
barred from top to bottom, as though it
had been thrown through prism The
100 ruble bill is quite large, being,
think, four by ten inches in size. Here,
in the center, is portrait of Catherine l.
The paper is not of an especially fine
quality, while the lettering is done with
dark and light brown ink. The 25 and 10
ruble notes are much smaller and almost
free from any elaborate display of colors.
The note mostly used is the 5 ruble, or
about 1925 in our money"
After looking at various other speci-
mems of foreign paper money, we inquired
whether outside of the business ex-
changes, there was much used.
Yes; there is quite call for foreign
bills, especially at this season of the year.
when so many thousands are going to and
coming from Europe. Curiously enough,
some people will not take paper money
The French and Germans almost always
ask Or coin, and say that they do not
want the paper bills. The Austrians and
Hungarians are just the opposite. They
generally prefer the paper money of their
own country to coin. The Americans
usually want coin. As one traveller said
to me not long ago. Gold is good for its
face value all over the world, and | can
get it exchanged if want bills The
Italians who go back to sunny Italy, |
found, are not very particular. They
would just as soon take lire notes as lire
coins"
Taking engraving and paper into con
sideration, what country do you think
turns out the best notes?'
well, with due regard for our English
cousins, think that the United States
notes beat the world. Take the item of
paper alone. OF course, during the rebel
lion the government was obliged to issue
within a very short time enormous
amounts of paper money in place of gold
and silver, which seemed to have been
suddenly swallowed up. The government
then used only plain, commercial bank
note paper, which gave the counterfeiters
good chance to flood the country with
notes like the old greenback issue. But,
about twenty years ago. the treasury de
partment adopted a special paper, the dis
tinctive feature of which was a narrow
localized line of short blue fiber running
the entire length Of the sheet of paper
in such a manner as not to lessen its
strength or interfere with the printing.
Did you ever examine the paper of
United States note under glass?
"No; well, if you would you would see
that these fbers have the appearance of
coarse black hairs. of all lengths and
shapes, scattered promiscuodsly all over
the surface of the note This kind of
paper is known as the Wilcox patent A
few years ago the government adopted
another feature of the fiber paper with
two silk threads running lengthwise
throughout the glazed surface There
is now law against a person using or
adopting this kind of paper for any obi
CATION or security, except under the au-
thority of the secretary of the treasury.
Let me tell you, concluded my patri-
otto informant, that we make more
money and better money than any other
people in the world New York Cor
Globe Democrat
The Fastest Train Service.