San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1888-08-30
NUMBER IS.
PAPER MONEY.
THE DIFFERENT KINDS ISSUED RY
VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES

The DIFFERENT KINDS ISSUED az
VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES
A y}anh u England Notc-Danouc do
Franco-Gcrman, Austrian aud italian
Diiis- -Russla's Many Colorcd Currency.
Notes OF the United stateA
At almost any hour Of the day eogcr and
hungry eyed men and boys may be secn
feasting their eyes on the glitterlng heaps
Of coin and tho thin bundles Of bank notes
spread In tempting array behind the plato
glass windows Of the money changers In
Wall street and vicinity. ''lt Is surpris-
Ing" said Nassau street broker. "hov
many different kinds Of paper we use for
currency In tho various foreign countries.
Each nation seems to have its own
particular kind or brand Of paper. Hero
Is Bank Of England note. II is printed
on Irish linen water lined paper. plain
white, with rough edges You will notice
In short time how tho paper locks tho
smooth. oily feeling Of our own bank
notes Then. again, There Is an OBJ
sence of any colorlng except black aud
white. Tho smallest notes Issued by
tho Bank Of England are of the value Of
G5 or $2H The old fashion Of sending
these notes from ono country to another
was TO cut tho note into two parts and
send tho pieces In separate envelopes, but
that is largely donc away with. All such
notes finally end their way back to tho
Bank Of England, whore they aro retired
for good They arc never reissued. as the
bank only sends out now. clean notes.
hive heard It said TINT the average lifo OF
q Bank Of England note was about three
weeks. A Bank Of Ireland note, as you
will SEQ, does not differ much FROM Bank
Of England note, except that It has moro
elaborate scroll work.
"This notc with blue and black letter.
Ing, together with numerous symbolical
pictures, Is Banque do Franco note. IT
Ii made OF plain whito paper. md could
bo easily initiated. I should think Tho
smallest note issued by tho banque ls o
e0f. note. while tho largest Ii the 1.0OOf..
which Is equivalent to about $l0O In our
money.
"Now, the German bills are printed In
green upon paper o good deol lighter than
our gold certificates. The Austrian paper
currency Is printed much the samo Tho
German bills range in denomination from
five marks, or $f.25. to 10000 marks. or
about $240 Of our money. Very few no
tlco at first glance that tho Austrian bills
are printed In German Oh ono side and In
Hungarian on tho other. This isdone, as
I understand, to accommodate tho ten
classes of Francis Josephs subjects.
The paper Of an Austrian bill 10 very
light coiorod, but quito thick and tough.
It has none Of the fine lines nor tho silk
fiber marks which aro the characteristics
Of our nntional or United States treasury
notes. Tho smallest Austrian note Is OF
tho valuo OF ono guilder or form. nearly
40 cents lorc. The largest note Issued Is
Of the valuo OF 1000 horlns. or $3.50 In
our money. :. Tho engrayer mu.t hnve
been of religious turn Of mind. " oil tho
angel heads ON these notes nie Of nny In
dication.
''Somo European countries got up theiy
notes regardless OF colorcd ink Thus tho
Italian 1000 llre note IL On elaborate af-
fair. The paper 10 plain whito, but tho
printing IL done In pink, blue Gnd car-
mine. Hero IL ono which hns q very
finely engraved vignette OF King Hum
bert. and tho scroll work viii compare
favorubly with tho best Of any currency.
Tho smaller italian bills aro about tho
some size as our old fractional currency.
They vary In denomination from ono nre
on 20 cents, to 10 lire. or about 50 In our
money.
"Ilero, pcrhaps. Is tho most gorgeously
colored bank note Of any European coun-
try. It is Russian 100 rublo bill 1t
has almost overy color Of tho rainbow,
barred from top 70 bottom. as though 1t
had been thrown through prism The
100 ruble bill Is quito large. being. l
think, four by ten inches In size. Hero.
In tho center, is u portrait Of Catherine l.
| Tho paper Is not Of on especially fine
quality, whilo the lettering Is donc with
ddrk and light brown Ink. Tho % and 10
ruble notes arc much smaller and almost
FREQ from any elaborate display Of colors.
Tho note mostly used is tho o riblo, or
about $2.25 In our money"
After looking Gt various other speci.
mems Of foreign paper money, VIC inquired
whether outside Of the business ex'
changcs, there was much used
"Yes; there is quito call for foreign
bills, especially as this season Of The year,
when 30 many thousands arc going 70 and
coming from Europe C,iriously enough
some people will not take paper money.
Tho French and Germans almost always
ask for coin, and soy that they do not
want the paper bills. Tho Austriana and
Hungarlans arc Just the opposite. They
generally prefer tho paper money Of Their
own country 70 coin. Tho Americans
usually want coin. AS ono tr1yeler said
TO me not long ago. Gold is good for Its
face vaIue oil over tho world, and can
get II exchanged II want billa.' The
italians who go back TO sunny Italy,
found, oro not very particular. They
would Just as coon take liro notes rs iiro
We'll with due regard for our English
cousins, think that tho United States
notes boat tho world Take tho Item Of
paper alone. OF course. during tho rebel
lion the government was Obliged 70 Issue
within o very short umo onormous
amounts Of paper money 10 place OF gold
and silver, which sec3led 70 have been
suddenly swallowed UP. The government
then used onIy plain. commercial tank
note paper. which gave the counterfeiterF
a GOOD chance 70 food the country with
notes like the old grcenboeS issue But,
about twenty years ago. tho treasury dc
partment sdopted Q sPecizl PAPER. tho dis
tinctive feature Of which vas q narrDB
localized limo Of short biue Cher running
tho entire length " the sheet OF pales
IN such @ manner as not 70 lessen fts
strength % Interfere With the printing:
did 700 ever examine the tsper %
United States note under Q giassf
mo: well. II you would yOu would So
that these lbers have the appearance Of
coarse black hairs. % ell lengths and
shat.os. scattered proniscuOusly al ovor
The surfsns Of tho note This kind q
paper Is known a. tho Wilcox pstelt a
i lev years AGO the governnent adopted
apOt6cr feature os dc 1ber paper With
two SILK threads running longthEist
throughout the giazed surf.na There
Is nov Q Law against q pcrEo1 using ~
adopting this kind Of Yapor for any obi