Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-10-15
UNCLE sAM,s vrw MONEY.
About to Issue tho Most Beautiful Bill
Ever Printed.

About to Issue tho Most Beautiful Bill
Ever Printed.
Washington Start
Tho most beautiful piece of paper
money ever produced by the United
States treasury Is the new SO silver GER
titlcates, first proofs of which on card
board were shown u Star reporter pri-
vately, at the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing. Although they were endorsed
on the margin IN Secretary Fosters
handwriting as approved" they had
not previously been exhibited to any
one save few high officials in the de-
partment. Superintendent of Engrav-
ing Casilear regards this new promise TO
pay Us his chef d'nuvre, and gleefully
deiies the counterfeiters to initiate II
with success. Their difficulty IN per-
forming such task would unquestion-
ably be greatly increased by the circum-
stance that the distinctive paperdirected
by law to be used in future for the
printing of all of Uncle Sans nego-
table securities is to be employed as q
material for the certificate in question
for the first time. Tho first batch of it
has reached the treasury, and within
few weeks people will be carrying
tiSuHu Ill thSAi pOShols 1S blilS VI LUSH
device.
1t is not true, as has been reported,
that new designs have been adopted for
the certificate mainly because there is
plausible counterfeit Of the present one
in circulation. This fact has had inilu-
ence in the matter, but the change is
made chiefly for the reason that the face
OF the old bill is not satisfactory, and il
is thought just as well to substitute a
new picture at the same time with the
introduction of the distinctive paper.
The portrait on the face of the present
certificate Of General Hancock Is not
well adapted to its purpose in the ar
rangemcnt of light and shade, so that,
after passing through few hands, IL
gets dim and is practically cifaced. 1t
may fairly be said that paper money of
small denominations requires more care
full execution than Is necessary for
larger bills, inasmuch as it must go
through so much more wear and tear.
Two dollar bills, it is thought, have
quite as much handling TO suffer as
those for 81 each, because they are SO
convcnicntin making change, and manu-
facturers use them to grea. extent In
paying off.
The new So silver certificate is really
a work of art in the highest sense. liz
the middle OF its face is an oval portrait
of the late Secretary Window, with his
| name beneath, which, In point of life
| IKE quality and effectiveness of cXccu
ton, is unequalcd by any other produc-
| ton Of the sort printed on treasury
securities since the manufacture Of paper
money iii this country was first begun.
! The rest OF the design consists merely
of the conventional legend gracefully
drawn in lettering with figure 2 in
each corner, surrounded by some curli-
cue of the geometric lathe.
OF geometric lathe work the back is a
wonder Nothing 50 elaborate in this
sort OF mechanical engraving, which is
the despair Of the c0unterfeiter, has
been produced hitherto in the manufac-
/ ture OF paper money in any country of
the world. The counterfelter will lind
| this new certificate more difficult sub
4 ject for imitation than he has ever vet
encountered. People have asked "Why
should not the counterfeiter himself pro-
cure geometric lathe Z" So he could
very easily, but TO reproduce with its
aid the patterns he would initiate is nh
impossibility as absolute as would he
that Of undoing the lock Of permuta-
ton safe without the formula. Ii Won
viii for moment gaze upon the com
| pilcated concentric and eccentric devices
on the reverse side of any United States
note or certificate, considering that they
can only be reproduced by arduous
copying with engraving by hand, You
Will perceive under what difficulties the
luckless forger of Uncle Sans prom
ises to pay is compelled TO labor. Ger
tam newspaper reports have circulated
the notion that this unhappy victim Of il
mania for imitation can case his toll
with Photographic and other process,
but the fact is tina. he finds all such as
sistance of little use.
The back of the new certificate Is en-.
| graved with view to showing as con
spicnously as possible the two stripes OF
silk fiber, each about as wide as ones
thumb, that run across the paper on
which the designs described are to be
printed, dividing the length Of each bill
INTO three parts, For this purpose por-
lions Of the surface are left white. In
the middle is an oval containing q
legend, on either side.of which Is an elab.
crate piece Of lathe work with biz
figure = IN the centre and little "twos
scattered about at points whore tile lines
converge. There are other features OF
the design, including some very difficult
small lettering, which ire intended tc
embarrass the counterfcitcr.
A star reporter saw y roam Of tho
distinctive paper ut the treasury depart.
inent. 1t looted somewhat like a fine
quality Of note paper, foolscep size
with two bands Of closely scattered red
and blue librcs running from top ID
bottom. Each sheet was intended foi
the printing of four certificates Or notes
The llbrcs are merely silk threads
bought from New York importing
firm BY the contractor who works FIJI
the treasury, cut into lengths Of d
quarter Of an inch am, run through the
paper sheets. No little difficulty wa.
found Mt first in making the process.
satisfactory, and the government pays
somewhat more for tic material than il
used to for the plain article.
BTSM.tRCK's best EIiGR4N.
|
Tho Russian is u Capital Fellow Till II,
I all RI l.. -.