Can Print Dimensions Vary on a Printed Note? 1 1

[ShaneMN]

I recently purchased two 1899 $1 Silver Certificates. When I compared the two notes, the dimensions of the printed areas were noticeably different. Is this common? I would have thought that that the print area would be the same even with variations in color, quality and centering, and even with interchangeable plates that need to fit on the printing press. But I was told this isn't uncommon.

[Fenntucky Mike]

On 11/4/2024 at 12:44 PM, ShaneMN said:

I recently purchased two 1899 $1 Silver Certificates. When I compared the two notes, the dimensions of the printed areas were noticeably different. Is this common? I would have thought that that the print area would be the same even with variations in color, quality and centering, and even with interchangeable plates that need to fit on the printing press. But I was told this isn't uncommon.

Can you post closer, larger, images of both notes?

[ShaneMN]

Here is the graded one....

[ShaneMN]

Here are some of the Ungraded....  Obviously, my concerns are of the Ungraded one.  Looks legit, it just seems like the print area would be the same for all notes.

[Fenntucky Mike]

In answer to your question, no, different size plates would not have been used to print these notes. The sizes would not have varied.

What are the overall dimensions of the notes? They should be close to 189 x 80mm from what I'm seeing, It's also possible that the grade note has shrunk. 

[ShaneMN]

Graded note is 189 x 80.  Ungraded is 192 x 80.  How would I know if the Ungraded was "fake"? Is there something that stands out in a counterfeit?

 

[Fenntucky Mike]

On 11/9/2024 at 1:36 PM, ShaneMN said:

Graded note is 189 x 80.  Ungraded is 192 x 80.  How would I know if the Ungraded was "fake"? Is there something that stands out in a counterfeit?

I suspect that the ungraded notes are reproductions as they don't seem to have the same fine detail as authenticated examples do. Identifying counterfeits, good counterfeits, takes years of practice and looking at a lot of notes. Probably the best way to go about this is to do a side by side comparison between the ungraded notes and an authenticated example.

The image above is of one of your ungraded notes, on the right, and of an authenticated example I found on Heritage Auctions. If you compare the two images you can see slight differences between the two notes, for example, the eagle's eye is clearly visible and well defined on the authenticated example, while on your raw note the eye is barely visible and really more of just a light grey patch with no real definition of the eye. The shadowing of the letters "STATES OF" on the raw example appears as if it is one solid blob of color while on the authenticated example you can clearly see the engraving lines in the shadowing. If you were to look at the raw note under magnification you may notice a dot matrix pattern in the ink as opposed to continuous lines of ink, if true that would be an indication that the raw notes were made using a home printer, or similar, as opposed to being made using a printing press. I suspect that if you continue to compare your notes that you will continue to see differences such as I am describing, mainly the lake of engraving lines and the presence of blobs of color.

I don't collect these and am certainly no expert on them, but if you'd like to get a second opinion I'd suggest that you post these notes over at Paper Money Forum. More than likely someone over there can help you out. Please come back and update this thread if you do. 

[ShaneMN]

Will do.  Thank you so much for the information.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 11/10/2024 at 8:10 AM, ShaneMN said:

Will do.  Thank you so much for the information.

How did it turn out ??