The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1888-05-16
ENGRAVING A "eREENBACK."
Brief Explanation of the Various Process
es by Which the Work IL Done.
(From the Philadelphia Times.)

es by Which the Work IL Done.
(From the Philadelphia Times)
So vague is the general idea as to how
bank note is made that we propose to
explain briefly the various processes it
goes through before it is issued as part
Of the "money of the realm" saying, by
way Of introduction, that this country
leads the world in bank-note engraving.
Unfortunately, the first consideration in
making bank note is to prevent bad
men from making a counterfeit of it, and
therefore all the notes of a certain de-
nomination or value must be exact dupi-
Gates of each other. If they were engra-
we'd by hand this would not be the case;
and. another thing, hand engraving is
more easily counterfeited than the work
done by the processes which we are
going to describe.
Every note is printed from steel
plate, in the preparation Of which many
persons take part. If you will look at
a five-dolar 'greenback" you will see
pict Ire in the centre; small portrait.
called vignette, on the left, and in each
of the upper corners network of fine
lines with dark ground, one of them
containing the letter ' and the other the
fgue5 These four parts are made on
separate plates. To make avignette it is
necessary first to make large drawing
on paper with great care, and daguer
reotype is then taken of the drawing the
exact size of the engraving desired.
The daguerreotype is then given to the
engraver. who uses steel point to mark
on it all the outlines OF tie picture. The
plate is mixed and print taken from it.
While the ink is still damp the print is
laid face down on steel plate, which
has been softened BY heating it red hot
and and letting it cool slowly. It is then
put in press ana an exact copy of the
outline is thus made cc the steel plate.
This the engraver finishes with his
graver, q tool With three .cornered point,
which cuts a clean line without leaving a
rough edge.
Now, this plate is used for making
other plates it is never used to print
from. It must be made very hard, and
this is done by heating it and cooling it
quickly. A little roller of softened steel
is then rolled over it by a powerful ma
chine until its surface has been forced
into all the lines cutinto the plate. The
outlines of the vignette are thus transfer
red to the roller in raised lines, and after
the roller is hardened it is used to roll
over plates of softened steel and thus
make in them sunken lines exactly Like
those in the plate originally engraved.
The centre picture is engraved and
transferred to roller like the Tignette,
but the network in the upper corners
and also on the back of the note, is made
by the lathe. This machine costs S., 900,
price that puts it beyond the reach OF
counterfeiters, and its work is SO perfect
that it cannot be initiated by hand The
lathe engraves the network on softened
steel, land the figure in the middle of it is
then engraved by hand. 1t is now hard
ened and transferred to q roller like the
Others
The plate from which the notes are to
be printed is of softened steel and large
enough to print four notes at once.
-Four engravings OF the notes must,
therefore, be made on it, an this is done
by rolling the hardened steel rollers con-
tanning the raised pictures over it in their
appropriate places until the pictures are
pressed into its surface. The fine letter
ing around the border OF the note is
transferred in the same way, but the other
lettering is put on by hand. This process
saves great deal OF time and it secures
absolute uniformity IN the four engrav
ings on the plate.
The black parts of the note are printed
first, and when the ink is dry the green
back is printed, to be followed by the
red stamps and numbers. It is then
signed and issued. For greater security,
one part of the note is engraved and
printed at one place and another part at
another place, when it is sent to Wash
ington to be finished and signed
But even after al this care and all
these safeguards, many skilfully ly-executed
counterfeits have been made and issued,
some of them so good as to deceive the
most expert judges of money.