Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-09
NEW j. S. CURRENCY
AROUSES INTEREST
Many Request View of Paper
Money Soon to Be in
Circulation.
BY EDWARD c. STONE.

the past week when the new currency
was placed on exhibition for the first
time. the new bills being studied with
intense interest. Scores sought to OBJ
tain one of two of the bills. but al
pleas were refused. Each bank had but
four bills and it was distinctly under
stood that they were for exhibition pur-
poses only.
The new paper currency, 5-16 by
Allie inches. is most attractive and Is
now expected TO be put into circulation
about July 10. On the face OF the 81
bills is an engraving of washington. On
the face of the 50 bills is picture OF
Thomas jefferson. while on the reverse
side is a picture of Monticello. Lincoln
appears on the face of the SIS bills, while
on the back is a handsome engraving OF
the Lincoln Memorial.
The $40 bill presents a picture OF
Alexander Hamilton on the face and the
United States Treasury Building adorns
the other side Jackson appears on the
face of the $40 denomination, while on
the reverse side of this bill is fine pic
ture OF the historic Hermitage, his old
home near Nashville, Tenn.
Novel Method Is Adopted.
An effort has been made to keep the
new designs as simple as possible with
out unnecessary and confusing orna-
mentation. For the new designs every
back of a given denomination is abso-
lutely identical. The SIS bill back will
always bear an engraving of the Lincoln
Memorial as a predoninating feature.
The SIS backs will accordingly be printed
in quantity and used for any kind OF
currency issued in this denomination.
Accordingly there will be only one SIS
back, instead of several, for the Govern
rs tN,.fy, ont for A
public to become familiar with.
For the faces, although necessary to
show the kind of currency, uniform
denominational characteristics have
been fixed, the outstanding feature Of
each denomination being the portrait.
The Treasury seals and serial num-
bers will be printed in color, on United
States notes in red. in blue for silver
certificates, In yellow for gold certif1-
Gates, in green for Federal reserve notes
and in brown for national bank notes.
On United states currency the seal will
be on the left, balancing a large
five" at the right of the portrait.
On the Federal reserve currency the
seal will be superimposed on this word
five" at the right of the portrait,
but will be balanced by the Federal
reserve district numeral at the left.
The seal will have the same place at
Tile IlBaL Oh OIlS IldtlOlldl UdIlh CuILcilCy
and at the left of the portrait the
name of the issuing bank will be promi-
nently printed. These differences of
color and the position of the seal are
sufficient to facilitate the ready sorting
Of currency by banking institutions.
Gold certificates, the Treasury an
nounces, will no longer have the yellow
back of the past but will be printed
with a green back like other currency
and will have the numbers and seal in
yellow on the face.
Study of the new 81 bills reveals
that they have no picture on the back
of them. All bills of 500 denomina-
tions and under, with the exception of
the Sis, have engravingS Of buildings
on the back. The Sis and the higher
denominations have ornate backs al
though none of the banks here or
elsewhere have yet received any OF the
there are IL denominations represented
in the new reduced size currency.
Enormous Printing Problem.
As one looks at the new bills as they
are exhibited in the banks the enormous
amount of work in producing them is
little understood. 1t has been necessary
to print for a complete turnover OF
United States and Federal Reserve cur
rency approximately 100000 sheets
of IL subjects each, or $4,000 900 indi-
vidual pieces. These have to go through
the various operations of wetting, back
printing, examining, a second wetting,
face printing examining, trimming,
numbering and sealing, and the final
cutting into individual notes After
this they are assembled into packages
of 1000 pieces for delivery to the
Treasury. Vast as is the capacity of
the bureau to accomplish enormous
tasks of this character, the production
Of this new currency in part carried on
during period of substantial pro-
duction of the old size currency to meet
the needs of the past months, strained
the bureaus capacity to the utmost.
In order that this new currency
might have longer life than that of
the old size currency, extensive research
work was undertaken with the co-opera-
ton Of the Bureau of Standards, the
Bureau Of Efficiency and the manufac-
turers Of the paper to develop a type
of paper which would have a greater
endurance and folding strength and
which would at the same time meet
the manufacturing requirements of the
Bureau OF Engraving and Printing. It
is not every paper of high strength
that will stand the wetting and drying
operations incident to the manufacture
OF currency. United States currency is
printed by the intaglio process on
dampened paper.
Paper when moistened expands, but
does not always contract uniformly as
1t dries. A second wetting is necessary
between the printing of the backs and
the faces. The Treasury has to have
paper that Will expand and contract
uniformly under these conditions, in
order that the faces on each sheet of
IL notes may register with reasonable
accuracy against the backs previously
printed, a somewhat severe requirement,
when combined with a stipulated thick
ness, structure and folding strength.
The new paper has no prominent silk
fiber Such fiber as it contains is so
macerated and interviewer in the tex
ture Of the paper that 1t is not readily
observed. It has long been felt that
the prominent silk fiber was an encour-
agement to the counterfeiter since 1t
was so easily initiated
Distribution Another Big Task.
The problem of distribution is planned
as follows: Prior TO the issue date,
stocks Of the new-size currency will be
placed in reserve custody in the IL
Federal Reserve Banks and in certain
of their branches. The initial issue will
be made simultaneously to all banks.
At this time all established denoni-
nations from ST to 500 inclusive, Of
all kinds of currency, except national
bank notes will be issued The higher
denominations of United States and
Federal Reserve currency and the estab-
lished denominations Of national bank
notes will follow as soon as possible.
All issues will be through the Federal
Reserve Banks to member and other
banks, and all banks will be placed on
an equal footing.
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