Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1888-08-15
BANK OF ENGLAND NOTES.
Interesting Eos About the "OId
Lady of ThreadneedIe Street"

The paper on which the notes are
printed Is made by private factory II
I yorkshire, under strictly guarded con
dltions. and with the water-mark.
which is so conspicuous feature. Ii is
of silyery white and so strong that il
will sustain fifty pounds weight when
suspended at the corners. The print.
ing is performed at the bank in Thread
needle street, including the signature
of the nominal maker of the draft.
The drafts or notes used formerly 10
be signed by assistant cashiers, but the
issue eventually became too large to
admit of Sign manual being used,
so printing was substituted.
Each individual note as soon as
| issued has its number, letter, date and
denomination placed to its debit in a
| ledger account. the per contra being
hlleI on the return of the note, perhaps
the next day, perhaps III fifty years.
time. Some years ago lot of 81
notes issued in the middle of last CEN
tury were handed in for payment. A
reference to the ledger of that date
showed the credit side of the note
account, with corresponding numbers,
to be open, 50 the drafts were duly
honored.
Is of 20, the highest el0, 1000. y nota-
BILE feature of the Bank of England
note, when compared with that of other
issues and countries, is its crIspness
and clearness. The simplicity of de-
sign and clearness of lettering and fig
uring are very conspicuous. The
reason why we never find tattered and
foul Bank of England bills, or bank
notes, as the Englishman prefers to
call them, arises from the custom of the
bank never to issue one of its notes a
second time. This rule is so Scrupu-
lously observed that should a thousand
notes of 60 each, Issued in the morning
IN exchange for gold at the issue de-
partment, come into the hands of the
banking departments as customers
deposit in the afternoon, possibly with
out having been united, they would be
Immediately Cancelled. This cancella-
tion is performed by tearing of the
signature corner of each note. the
number and date first being recorded
by the receiving clerk on his counter
cash book.
The mutilated bills at the banking
department are collected at short inter
walls by a clerk from the accountants
department, where they are assorted
into their respective denominations
and placed to their individual ledger
credits. They are then stored, and
after ten years. interval consigned TO
the flames.
The detection of forged bank note
Is almost inevitable under this system.
simply to initiate the paper Is difficult,
he best Imitation being readily percep-
.ible TO practIced touch. To coun-
Tait ha fVr 80 n,
owing to the absence of complexity to
confuse the eye, and third reliance
for the paying teller as he rapidly scans
the notes before shoveling out the gold
in exchange is peculiarity in the
of certain letters known
only to the initiated Should forgery
slip through these guards the numbers |
and date and denomination must all |
with the ledger entry, and |
should all these agree the chances are /
that the legitimate note will have |
already filed up the blank.
The actual cost of each Bank of |
England note is about five cents. An |
ordinary days issue of notes, with a |
number cancelled, is |
rom 5000 to 10000; but when for
gerry is known to be afioat all of that
particular denomination are poured in
heir holders for exchange or redemp-
Ion, ana as many as ,OC0 notes under
such circumstances have been presented
md Cancelled In one day.
AS an offset to this expense the
Yearly gain to the bank in notes de-
'troyed by fire and water amounts to a
aTge sum, which, however, is taken
nto account by the government when
adjusting Its national debt and ex-
;hequer arrangements with the bank.
The "Old Lady of Threadneedle
street," as the LOndOner lovingly calls
he institution, which, next TO his
queen, he most deeply reveres, is very
LIBERAL when dealing with cases of notes
or mutilated. The secre-
ary's office attends to those matters.
md there may be seen daily remnants
If notes which have undergone every
ordeal short of absolute