Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-24

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the Treasury for final approval.
THE design is then reproduced In
soft steel by men who have specialized
in the various kinds of engraving, as
portrait. vignette, ornamental or letter.
Each engraver, with a steel tool having
diamond-shaped point known as q
graver and aided by a powerful nagni-
flying glass, carefully carves his respeC
tive portion of the design into the stee
conscious that one false cut or slip VI
his tool or miscalculation of width or
depth of line may destroy the artistic
merit of his work and that weeks or
months of labor will have been in vain.
1.-THE original engraving, called a
die, is then heated in cyanide Of po-
tassium and hardened by quickly Dip
ping it into oil or brine. 1t is then
placed on the bed of transfer press
and a cylinder of steel. caiied roll.
held fast by the levers Of the press. IS
rolled over the die under great pressure
until the soft steel of the roll is forced
into the lines of the engraving. perfect
ly reproducing 1t in relief on the cir
conference of the roll. The work OF
each engraver contributing toward the
particular design Is thus transferred to
rolls, which, through this method OF
transfer, are assembled on one roll.
This roll is hardened in the same
manner as is used for hardening dies.
The design Is then transferred from the
roll to a steel plate by the same method
as is used to transfer from the die to
the roll, the impression from the hard
roll with engraving in relief making an
intaglio or cut-in impression on tne
plate. The engraved plate, when hard
ened and cleaned, is ready for the
printer. It reveals the individual excel
lence and characteristics Of number
of skilled engravers, making 1t difficult
for counterfeiter to make a perfect
reproduction of this composite work OF
other engravers. A roll will duplicate
an engraving a great many times before
wearing out, and the original engraving
or dies are preserved for making new
rolls.
I" A MOTHER method Of making
plates, known as the electrolytic
process. has been inaugurated and de-
veloped in the bureau. Through this
process the life of an original plate has
been greatly heightened. When an
engraved plate has been completed in
every detail it is subjected to certain
treatment and then placed in a special
bath and by means of electro deposit
ton a plate is built thereon to re-
quired thickness, called an alto: The
plate is removed from the bath and
the alto is separated from it. The
engraving on the plate being intaglio,
the engraving on the alto naturally is
in relief, as has been stated in the
case of roll by the transfer process,
except that the alto is fiat surface.
The alto, in like manner. is placed in
a bath. Nickel and copper are de-
posted on it. When separated the
impressions are intaglio. The alto can
be returned to the bath as often as
additional plates
These electrolytic plates consist of
alternate layers of nickel and copper
deposited electro chemically over which
is deposited a layer of chromium only
thousandths of an inch in
thickness. to insure satisfactory wear
ing properties of the plate Chromium
is rather a rare metal. ranking next to
the diamond in hardness. 1t Is found
in nature as chromite, usually In COM
bination with iron, sometimes with
lead and in small quantities in Sill
Gates. Chromium has found its prin-
cipal commercial application in the
of stainless steel.
"Photolithography Is used In the
of zinc and high etched
plates for printing internal revenue
stamps, checks and similar classes of
work and a complete section in this
division is devoted to this undertake
ing"
It will be seen that the faces
Of the new paper money represent the
highly specialized and artistic work of
some half dozen expert engravers. AS
there Is no one engraver in the Bureau
Of Engraving and Printing who can
reproduce one of these plates alone the
1ifficulty that would confront a coun-
.erfeiter can be appreciated. Add to
his the various new safeguards that
have been employed. such as new paper
naoe under a changed process. and
lew conforming designs, end it will be
,vident that the new paper currency
will be more difficult to match or copy
han any negotiable security which has
yer been produced by the Government.
But one question remains to be
iolved in the issuance of the new form
If currency, and that Is the changing
If the national bank notes to conform
With tho new style. The Bureau of
and Printing has a set of
,lateS for each denomination ordered
~ the respective banks. These ag-
,regate more than 10000 plates, and
o re-engrave all of them would require
ears to accomplish and cost nearly
million dollars. Unless this national
'ank currency is eliminated after 1880,
ither the separate plates will have to
,e re-engraved or universal bank
tote win have to be adopted upon
which the name of the bank can kS
geographically imprinted