OUGD406: License to Print Money - Counterfeiting & Designing

Counterfeiting & Designing
29 / 02 / 16

The major consideration in modern currency design is to prevent the notes from being counterfeited. This has been true from the beginning of the United States currency and has evolved alongside technology.

Early currency printing at the BEP was accomplished on hand cranked, flatbed presses referred to as spider presses because of the long spokes used to move the plate and paper through the press. The plate printer inked and polished the plates and operated the press while the printer’s assistant was responsible for the careful placement of blank sheets onto the press and removal and stacking of the finished printed items.
(Photo date c.1893)

The federal government began issuing its own paper currencies during the beginning of the Civil War in order to pay for the war effort. These early national currencies included Demand Notes, Fractional Currency, United States Notes, National Bank Notes, and Gold Certificates. When these notes were issued, the primary security features were engraved images, the use of colour, and distinctive rag-based currency paper.

Highly complex and intricate engravings of imagery that were familiar and visually pleasing to the currency user served as a major deterrent. Other counterfeit deterrents included colour ink and the application of metallic powders (referred to as bronzing) as well as the use of distinctive paper with colour fibres and other elements suspended within the paper. This was in response to the threat of black and white photocopying, a readily available technology that made it fairly easy for an individual to reproduce a note that was printed only with black ink on white paper. With the addition of colour—both in and on the note—U.S. currency was fairly well protected against would be counterfeiters.

Designing Currency

After the security features are chosen, BEP (U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing) banknote designers integrate them into the design to develop the overall look, layout, and artistic details of U.S. paper currency. Banknote designers are specialised in both art and manufacturing. The design of money begins with ideas and rough sketches. Then, like piecing together a puzzle, banknote designers must incorporate design elements around selected security features, while maintaining the “look and feel” commonly identified with U.S. currency. Designers strive to retain familiar elements and convey an image that is uniquely American and reflects the strength of their economy.

Whether working with digital or traditional tools, banknote designers all have extensive training and expertise in the visual fundamentals of line, form, colour, and composition—all of which are key to successful currency design. Using traditional pencil, paper, and paints, BEP modeller and designer Clarence Holbert works on the design of a $1 Federal Reserve note face.

Banknote designers use both cutting-edge, digital technology and classic tools like pencil to develop banknote concepts. They must not only take the imagery of a note in consideration, but also its reproducibility during manufacturing—considering how details such as outlines, tone, and shading will "translate" when engraved and printed on an intaglio press because each stage of the manufacturing process has its own technical requirements. A design concept typically includes dozens of iterations and extensive testing over several years before a final design concept is presented to the Secretary of the Treasury for approval.