Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-07-21
PAPER MONEY.
THE DIFFERENT KINDS ISSUED ev
VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

kusssRh uNuy Sotorcu
Notes Of the United states.
At almost any hour OF the day eager aud
hungry eyed men and boys may be seen
fcastlng their eyes on the glittering heaps
Of coin and the thin bundles Of bank notes
spread in tempting array behind the plate
glass windows Of the money changers IN
Wall street and vicinity. ''It is surpris.
ing. said q Nassau street broker, ''how
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. II Is printed
on Irish linen water lined paper. plain
white, with rough edges. You will notice
In short time how the paper lacks the
smooth, oily feeling Of our own bank
notes. Then, again. there Is an ab.
sence of any coloring except black aud
white. The smallest notes issued by
the Bank Of England are Of the value Of
60 or t25. 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
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 II said that the average life OF
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 II has more
elaborate scroll work.
This note with blue and black letter.
ing. together with numerous symbolical
pictures, is Banqne do France note. II
Is made of plain white paper. and could
be easily initiated, should think. The
smallest note issued by the banque is a
20f. note, while the largest is the 1,000f,
which is equivalent to about $le0 in our
money.
Now, the German bills are printed in
green upon paper good deal lighter than
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 Ia done as
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.
II 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 1000 forms. or $8sB In
our money. Tho engraver must have
been Of religious turn Of mind, II 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 1000 lire note is an elaborate af
fair. The paper Is plain white, but tho
printing Is done In pink, blue and car.
mine. Here Is one which has very
finely engraved vignette Of King Hum
bert, and the scroll work will compare
favorably with the best Of any currency
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 e. In our
money.
Here, perhaps, is the most gorgeously
colored bank note Of any European coun-
try. II is q Russian 100 ruble bill. II
has ALMOST every color Of the rainbow,
barred from top to bottom, az though II
100 ruble bill is quite large, being,
think, four by ten inches in size. Here
In the center. is a portrait Of Catherine |
The paper Is not Of an especially fine
quality, while the lettering is done with
dark and light brown ink The 25 and Il
ruble notes aro much smaller and almost
free from any elaborate display Of colors
Tho NOTE mostly used is the ruble, OF
about *2.25 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
The French and Germans almost always
ask for coin, and say that they do moi
want the paper bills. The Austrians and
Hungarians are just the opposite. They
generally prefer the paper money of tbeil
own country to coin. The Americans
usually want coin. AZ one traveller said
to me not long ago. Gold is good for II,
face value all over the world, and j car
get 1t exchanged II want bills Tn,
| Italians who 90 back TO sunny Italy,
found, are not very particular. They
would just as soon take lire notes rs lir'
| coins"
Taking engraving and paper into con
sideration, what country do you thinl
| turns out the best notes2"
| well, with due regard for our Englisl
cousins, think that the United State
notes beat the world. Take the item O
| paper alone. OF course, during the rebel
| lion the government was obliged TO issu
within very short time enormou
amounts Of paper money In place Of gol'
and silver which seemed TO have beei
suddenly swallowed up. The goveynmen
then used only plain, commercial banl
note paper, which gave the counterfeiter
good chance TO flood the country witt
notes like the old greenback issue. But
about twenty years ago, the treasury dc
partment adopted a special paper, the dis
tipctive feature of which was q narro,
localized line of Siprt blue fiber runnin
the entire length Of the sheet of pape
in such manner as not to lessen II
strength or interfere with the printing.
| "Did you ever examine the paper OF
United States note under glassf
| mo; well, If you would you would sc
that these fbers have the appearance c
coarse black hairs, of all lengths an
shapes, scattered promiscuously all owe
the surface of the note. This kind G
paper is known as the Wilcox patent.
few years ago tho government adopte
anotie. feature of the fiber paper wit
two silk threads running lengthwis
throughout the glazed surface. TheI
is now a law against q person using {
adopting this kind of paper for any obi
cation or security, except under the al
thority Of the secretary Of the treasury.
"Let me tell you," concluded my patr
otic informant, "that we mako mo-
money and better money than any 9th,
people in the world. Now York Co
Globe. Democrat.