Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Bank Note

BANK NOTE, an engraved certificate representing its face value in specie. In the production of bank notes, the principal purpose is to render their forgery impossible, or at least easy of detection. This is sought to be effected by peculiarity of paper, design, and printing. Bank of England notes are printed in one of the blackest and most indelible of inks, on paper expressly made for the purpose by one firm only. It is a handmade paper, remarkable for its strength, lightness and difficulty of imitation. Its peculiar water mark constitutes one of the chief safeguards of the notes against forgery. No Bank of England notes are issued twice, so that this mark is rarely indistinct, and the paper does not lose its peculiar crispness.

In the United States, the bank notes at present in circulation are manufactured by the Government Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the paper being made by a private concern, under a patented process, the chief ingredients being a mixture of linen and cotton fiber, into which are introduced threads of silk, so arranged as to be perceptible after the notes are printed. This style of paper is furnished only to the Government. Superior skill is exercised in engraving the plates, nearly all parts of them being executed by the geometrical lathe and the ruling machine the work of which it is impossible to imitate successfully by hand. The printing of the notes is done in colored inks of the best quality, sometimes as many as four shades being used. The great expense of the machines used in the engraving, and the superior quality of the work generally, renders successful counterfeiting almost impossible. The notes, when badly worn, are returned to the United States Treasury, other notes being issued in their stead.

Source: Collier's New Encyclopedia 1. (1921) New York: P.F. Collier & Son Company. 407-408.