Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-21
BANK NOTE MAKING.
First Consideration to Balk Schemes of
Counterfeiters.

Counterfeiters.
From the New York Herald.
First in consideration in making a bank
note Is to prevent others from making a
counterfeit Of 1t. Therefore, all the notes
Of a certain denomination or value must
be exact duplicates of one another II they
were engraved by hand this would not be
the case. Hand engraving Is more easily
counterfeited than the work done by the
process actually used.
Every note" said an official OF one of
the leading bank note companies, lis print
ed from steel plate. In the preparation of
which many persons take part. II you will
look at hve-doilar greenback you will
see picture In the center. small portrait,
called vignette, on the left. and in each
OF the upper corners a network of fine lines
with a dark ground, one containing the
letter V and the other the figure 5.
ITO make a vignette 1t is first necessary
to make large drawing on paper with
great care. and a daguerreotype Is then
given to the engraver, who uses a steel
point to make on 1t all the outlines of the
picture. The plate Is linked and a print Is
taken from it.
while the ink is still damp the print is
laid face down on a steel plate, which has
been softened by heating it red hot and let.
ting 1t cool slowly. 1t Is then put in a press
and an exact copy Of the outline is thus
made on the steel plate. This the engraver
finishes with his graver. little tool with
line without leaving a rough edge.
Now, this plate is used for making other
plates-it 1s never used to print from. It
must be made very hard, and this is done
by heating and cooling 1t quickly. A lit
tie roller OF softened steel is then rolled
over 1t by powerful machine until its
surface has been forced into all the lines
cut into the plate. The outlines of the Wig
nette are thus transferred to the roller In
raised lines. and after the roller Is hard
ened it Is used to roll over plates Of sof-
tened Steel and thus make in them sunken
lines exactly like those in the plate origi-
nally engraved.
THE center picture Is engraved and
transferred to a roller. like the vignette.
but the network in the upper corners and
also on the back of the note. Is made by
the lathe. This machine costs 5000
price that puts 1t beyond the reach of coun-
terfeiters. Its work is so perfect that 1t
cannot be initiated by hand. The lathe en-
graves the network on softened steel, and
the figure in the middle of it Is then en-
graved by hand. 1t Is now hardened and
transferred to a roller like the others.
The plates from which the notes are to
be printed are of softened steel and large
enough to print four notes at once. Four
engravings of the note must, therefore, be
made on 1t. and this Is done by rolling the
hardened steel rollers containing the raised
pictures over 1t in their appropriate places.
until the pictures are pressed into Its sur
face.
1.-THE fine lettering around the borders Of
the note Is transferred in the same way
but the other lettering is put on by hand.
This process saves great deal of time and
1t secures absolute uniformity In the four
engravings on the plate.
1.-THE back parts of the note are printed
first. and when the ink Is dry the green
back is printed. to be followed by the red
stamps and numbers. 1t Is then signed and
Issued. For greater security one part OF
the note is engraved. and printed at one
place and another part at another place.
when 1t Is sent to Washington to be finished
and signed.
But needless to say. after all this care
and all these safeguards, many skillfully
executed counterfeits have been made and
issued, some of them so good as to deceive
expert judges of money"