July 2nd. 2012.
Next club meeting Monday 3rd September 2012.
Meetings are held
at the Abbey Baptist Church, Abbey Square, commencing at 7.00 p.m.
NOTICES
July Meeting
Our talk this month
by Pam West was on the beginnings of anti-forgery devices used on Bank of
England banknotes. Banknotes were first issued by the bank in 1694 and were
handwritten on plain paper, however this was replaced
by watermarked paper by 1697. This was reasonably inimitable, as the paper was
made, watermarked, printed and (when necessary) destroyed within the confines
of the Bank. Britannia was introduced on the earliest notes, and has remained
there since.
In the first few
years, the notes were made out for any denomination deposited (effectively a
receipt). After the re-coinage of 1696, the need for smaller notes reduced, and
it was decided not to issue any notes for sums of less than £50. Since the
average income in this period was less than £20 a year, most people went
through life without ever coming into contact with banknotes!
During the 18th
century there was a gradual move toward fixed denomination notes. From 1725 the
Bank was issuing partly printed notes for completion in manuscript. The £ sign
and the first digit were printed but other numerals
were added by hand, as were the name of the payee, the cashier’s signature, the
date and the number. Notes could be for uneven amounts, but the majority were for round sums. By 1745 notes were being part
printed in denominations ranging from £20 to £1,000.
The Restriction
Period (1797-1821), during which the Bank was not obliged to convert its notes
into gold on demand, provided the conditions in which forgery could thrive
because low-denomination notes (£1 and £2) were issued for the first time to
compensate for the shortage of coin. These notes were handled by people who
were unused to paper currency and who were often illiterate. They quickly
became the natural dupes of the forgers. As such, various options were
considered to combat this and in 1797 Alexander Tilloch
was commissioned to design a note that was inimitable. Despite producing plates
for note using four colours, Tilloch’s
designs were never adopted as the Superintendent of the Bank was able to
produce passable copies every time.
By 1818 there had
been about 1000 convictions for forgery – the penalty being death by hanging.
This prompted George Cruickshank (a noted caricaturist and illustrator who
worked closely with Charles Dickens) to produce a parody of the Restriction
note in 1819 protesting at this severe penalty.
Applegarth and Cowper –
designers of a steam-powered printing press also submitted plates, and were
engaged by the Bank in 1817 to produce notes that were proof against forgery.
Over the next four years the Bank spent around pounds £40,000 on experiments by
the pair in vain. Their own engravers were able to copy every aspect of the Applegarth and Cowper designs – despite the use of up to 5 colours. The trials are complemented by an illustrated
report dealing with forgery published in 1819. Some of these were printed on
officially watermarked paper – but always with the incorrect denomination.
Ostensibly, the
design of the banknotes remained virtually identical from its birth right
through to 1928 when colour was (finally!)
introduced.
Pam ended our talk
by showing a selection of slides of patterns/proofs that had been produced by
the various designers, as well as inviting the audience to view examples of
some of the notes that she is lucky enough to own.
The twenty-four
members present showed their appreciation in the usual way and we thank Pam for
her enlightening talk.
For further
information in this area, Pam recommended a couple of books:
Past Events
Club
Secretary.