The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-01-29
HIRD TO COUNTERFEIT
Bank OF E,cl,nd Notes with Th"ir Text
urr. Engraving, and Water Marx.

urs. Engraving. aud Water Marx.
Sir Gerald Herbert Portal whose death has
Just been announced. came OF a Hugueno OF FAINT
ly that settled In Hampshire rather more than
two centuries ago. Tho family has had for sew
eral generations the monopoly OF manufac-
turing the paper used for producing the notes
OF the tank ~ England. and q mem Der OF the
family was the inventor OF the water mark.
The mills y! the Portals have long been stu
ated at averstoks in HAMPSHIRE and there
the BANK OF Fnglapd paper is made.
Tho Portals. under the SPUR OF the bank.
have steadily improved tho quality Of the pa
per made for the bank rotes 1t is Handmade
paper. the product OF workmen long trained TO
the business and many OF them inhcritors of
the trade from their fathers. The paper Is
made from pure and clean linen. and so made
that each n toto shall have three rough or uncut
edges. Tho Bank OF England has long per-
sisted In relying FOR its sole defence against
counterieitins upon the character OF the paper
texture, and weight the bank-note PAPER
differs from any other made. and the fact that
ali belong to tho closest and perhaps the
strongest 81 trades unions makes Il exceed
iugy difflcult to iina workmen among the
criminal classes 10 produce paper approaching
the quality OF that used in these notes.
More than forty years ago, when the French
Government was turnln. over many curious
devlces,' for, securing bank-note paper
that should defy tia counterleiters The
Bank OF England notes were simply
models Of the engravers art, as II was
then pTactised. executed upon paper OF
the finest quality. The Portal OF that day ex-
hiLitpd before = scientific assembly in London
an uHsiZed banE note that sustained a weight
of thirty-sX pounds. lie said that when
single grain OF sizing had been distributed
through the paper IL would sustain weight Of
at least atty pounds. A publication OF the day
declared that the uaper fully SIZED would sus-
paper aud the engraving had reached the de-
gree of excellence to which they had then at
tanned. countsrfeltnG was frequent. In spite OF
Its being capital offence
The Portals are the only persons that have
ever made bank-note paper for the liank OF
England. and the bank Ia constantly repre-
scented at the mills 10y sworn officials whose
duty Ii Is to supeTintend the processes OF man
utIrtura and TO see that nULs 81 the PAPER
shall get into the hands OF strangers. On Aug.
lU 1872. q quantity 81 the raper was stolen
from the mills. but the thieves were arrested
and convicted. The arrest ani conviction,
however, did not occur until the thieves had
caused TO be issued u number OF forged notes
printed upon this paper
George Buncher William Burnett Richard
Brewer, and James Grlfiiths were convicted Of
the toTReres in January lSEi Ihs famous
Bidwyll fOrgsries III 1873 were not OF bank
notes but Of notes for discount.
Ii Is now declared that any eNnsTt cAn al
most instantly detect forgery OF a Bank OF
England note ~ the feel Of tina paper Should
that test fail the water mark Is smother ot great
value aud the engraving VI the figure 81
Britannia Is such as almost to DEFY successful
eounteIfeltlng,