St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-02

%>S3- 1t is an interest
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tons of crisp. new
bank notes or sill
yer certifcateS-tO watch the silent en-
gravers eteh the steel, the shirt-Sleeved
plate printers take the impressions, and
the careful messengers carry off the fin
ished bills by the cart load.
When congress has ordered the issue
of new series of notes the first step in
known as tile model. This is
generally a handsome pen-and-ink
drawing of the proposed bill,
and is submitted in ally to the secretary
of the treasury for mis- approval. Moth
ing about the note if left to mere
chance. The banker does not re-
gard money from purely artistic stand
point. He wants the denomination to
he plain AMI distinct, and he asks that
the figure of the note be placed n the
upper right hand corner, in order to
facilitate counting. The fact that
note must bear certain title rather re-
stricts the artist in the preparation of
the model, but very frequently. as in
the case of the new $50 silver certificate,
which bears the portrait of the late
istic beauty are combined. In this par
ticular bill the artist has made strik-
ing innovation. The portrait, instead
of being at one end of the note, is in
the center, and is supported { n the
sides by figures of Prosperity and
Labor. The lettering is at the eXtrem-
tiles of the certificate, and the effect
produced by this new idea is really
very striking.
The model having been adopted, the
next step IS the engraving Of the plate.
The room in which this work is done is
a large, well-lighted apartment on the
ground floor. 1t must not be supposed
for an instant that the entire face of
note is engraved by one man. The pOr-
trait goes to one, the vignette to an
other, the lettering, script and border to
others, and so on until no less than
twelve men are at work. 1t is long
and tedious task, requiring great care
and accurate skill. No less than six
weeks timei necessary for the engrav-
ing of a portrait like that of Secretary
Manning. The steel used is all i'm
ported from England, and is a remark
ably fine grade. Engravers all over the
world use English steel, and have done
so for century.
When, at the end of many months of
careful engraving, the various portions
of the note are finished, an impression
of each section is taken upon solid
plate of steel Each separate part is
placed in the position it would occupy
on the note. and when the transfer is
finally &c 3omplised. the face of the new
bill appears in perfect form. The
plate is hardened, and across its en-
grayed surface is passed soft steel
roller. The depreSSiOnSO of the plate ap-
pear on the roller as raised surface,
and when the little cylinder has been
hardened it is perfect die. 1t, in
turn, is rolled by tremendous pressure
upon a plate of soft steel.
The power eXerted to force the fine
lines of the die into the steel IS so great
that thin bit of paper placed on the
plate leaves a deep impression. and a
bit of lint, scarcely visible to the naked
eye, forms rough scar. A fly speck
under this presStfYe makes deep hole
in the metal, and PARTICLES of dust must
be carefully removed less they, too,
leave their imprint.
This transfer process not only allows
any number Of plates to be made but is
an excellent guard against counterfeit
ing. Each face and each reverse of a
note being taken from the same die, are
exactly alike. In no other way could
this result be reached. No engraver,be
he ever so careful, could reproduce,
without the variation of a hairs breadth
any work Of his brands. Four impress
sions of the die are made upon
plate, so that the faces or backs
at the same time. The plate
after being hardened, is finished. 1t
costs the government, from its incep-
ton to it's completion, between $500
and 1000 in actual outlay for labor eX-
pended upon it.
From the engraving room the plate
goes up stairs to the printers. There
are about 200 of these, and each will
take from 600 to 1000 impressions daily
on his press. Each printer has lady
assistant to place the paper upon the
plate, and it is a bit of the romance of
money-making that not infrequently
printers assistant becomes printers
wife.
All the late issues of bank notes and
national currency require but two i'm
pressions, one each for the back and
face. The currency of 1875, however,
required three, because in the center of
the reverse side was an elaborate his
torical picture printed in black. No one
knows exactly why these pictures were
printed ON these notes. unless it was an
artistic device. At any rata, these bills
cost a good deal more than the others.
and the experiment has never since
been repeated. Eventually they will
disappear When the sheet of notes
has been printed on both sides, with
numerous examinations and cOuntingS
in between, it goes to the numbering
division.
The work of numbering is done en-
tireIy by women, who operate fifty-six
machines which the government owns.
Each note is numbered in neat figure
printed in blue ink, and of the 81 silver
certificates over 100000 have been
numbered since they were first issued
in 1886. The machines will number as
high as 99.999, 999, and some o. these
days 81 bill will bear this array of fig
ures, then the machines will start in
anew on a fresh series, starting at the
very beginning with the figure l.
The sides of the sheet are trimmed by
machinery, and it is an interesting fact
that not even the waste margins can be
removed from the building. A fine of
$1,000 and Imprisonment is the penalty
for having this paper in ones posses
sion, and a mement0 Of visit to the
When the sheet is trimmed it repre-
sents four perfect notes, except that
they lack the red seal. This used to be
added in the bureau, but now it is put
on in the treasury department. When
this seal is printed on the note the lat
ter is perfect currency, representing the
coin of the realm.
No one can imagine, without actual
observation, the perfect system of
checks which has been devised to pre-
vent theft. A sheet of paper is counted
no less than fifty-two times from the
moment it enters the building, worth a
fraction of cent, until it leaves, bear
ing. perhaps four notes, each of value
ladies, and from long practice they have
become most proficient. An expert can
easilycount 900 packages, of 100 sheets
each, during the day and not make mis-
take once month. There is one lday