Early Banknote Production

A picture is worth a thousand words. Here we see women at the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing processing sheets of Silver Certificates, Series 1899.

From this photograph, we can determine a number of things.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, women were the backbone of currency production and were involved in all processes of production from printing to packaging of finished notes.

Notes are printed four to a sheet on heavy linen paper. Four notes were the maximum number that would fit on a plate given the use of the flatbed presses of the time.

And, the paper was 100% linen unlike the cotton/linen paper used today. All linen paper was used as it was best suited to the wet method of printing wherein the paper was made wet before each printing. Wetting made the paper more pliable and took a better image from the engraved plate given the low pressure exerted by the press.

These women are probably counting the sheets. Repeated counting of sheets and notes during each step of production was the way to account for each sheet/note and prevent loss or theft.

Banknote production is a fascinating process with a long history.