The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-04-24
BANK OF ENGLAND NOTES.
Always Cashed ON Sight mt the Head
quarters in London.

An important question. and one often
raised, is whether or not a Bank of Eng
land note, which mainly composes the
national currency, is invariably good for
it's face, says McClure's Magazine. AS
matter of fact, whether lost or stolen. the
note will always be paid at the bank.
This point was finally settled many years
ago by the theft of 10000 in notes by the
principal clerk in one of the London banks.
He escaped to Holland, and there disposed
of the notes to a Jew. The theft, with the
numbers of the notes, was widely adver-
tised for six months. After that period the
Jew appeared with them and demanded
payment, which was refused. He went to
the Exchange and raised an cutlery. The
bank, he said, had refused to pay its own
notes, and was clearly insolvent. In a
very few minutes a clerk appeared to in
vite him back to the cashiers office, and
his claim, as well as the question which
it raised, was settled for all time. The
stolen notes in England are returned
through booKmakers. These gentlemen do
business on race courses. and have no
means of tracing persons who deal With
them. They suffer no loss through the
stolen paper, and are very generally used
in this way by the thieves.
One of the directors in 174O deposited
$l5OOOO and took single note, filled out
by the cashier, in return. He went home,
laid the note on the mantlepiece and fell
asleep. 1t disappeared. He believed 1t had
fallen into the fire, made an affidavit to
this effect, and received $150,0OO more, CIV
ing a guarantee that if the note was found
he would assume it's responsibility. Thirty
years afterwards, the man having In the
meantime died, the note was presented and
the bank had to pay it, and, as the mans
estate had long been divided, the bank lost
the money
The notes are printed in long and mar
row printing room in which a dozen ma
chimes of similar construction are IN tull
action. Their denominations vary from to
to e, 900, the largest note now printed. They
cost about tWo-thirds of cent each. A
single impression completes the note, spe-
cially numbered, dated and signed by the
cashier. Great reliance, as a check upon
counterfeting is placed upon the paper It
self, the engraving as compared with the
American bank note standard, being less
elaborate. The paper specially mace from
pure linen rags, is strangely thin and re-
markably tough. 1t has peculiar shade of
whiteness impossible to describe, and is
printed in indelible black ink of special
manufacture. The paper is made by Sc
cret process at special mill, which, time
out Of mind, has been the property OF the
Portal family. The note today is practi-
cally the same as it ever has been, and
it's apparent simplicity offers great temp
tation to counterfeiters out of employment.
No note out of the $4,000 or $4,000 now is
sued daily is ever issued twice. IT, as q
depositor, you should draw any amount in
notes at the bank and pay them back into
your account ten minutes afterward, they
would be Cancelled So, also, any othe'
notes received by you from any other bank
in London are always new ones. crisp from
the Bank of England presses of the day
before.
One of the curiosities of this department
is a ELS note, which was paid in after be-
ing out for III years. The bank note H.
brary is also here, with albums containing
old bank notes of various large amounts
with the names of the nOblemen for whom
they were issued. There is also the fl ,O00,-
| 900 bank note, a bit of paper which in its
day was worth $5,0OO,OOO and was issued
for convenience in closing an undertaking
of unusual moment. The records of this
department are of invaluable assistance in
checking forgery, and the Cancelled notes
| which are kept for a period of about five
years before being burned, are constantly
under examination by Scotland Yard de
| tectives in search of stolen money, or Other
people whose notes have been lost.