OK, here's a quick question regarding how Star Notes are issued for circulation. Or rather it's a request for confirmation if I understand the process correctly. In the old days, when notes were "100%" inspected, defective notes were literally swapped out of 100 note straps and replaced with a star note. This was a manual process. If a sheet was found to be defective or contain an error, the affected notes received a red flag, red mark, or similar so that the person inspecting the final straps could recognize which notes needed to be swapped out quicker. I have seen auctions in the past where notes recieved a red flag or a red crayon-like mark, but the final inspector missed it. While this procedure helped contribute to error notes escaping to circulation, it made the auditor's job much easier. Separate and independent auditors could easily account for the number of pages fed into the printing press, the number of star notes printed, the number of normal notes printed. An independent auditor could independently verify that the number of star notes consumed equals the number of rejected notes received for destruction. ===== In the current method, I think it's still true that inspectors can put red flags on any defective page at any step in the process and sensors in the COPE-PAK step (Currency Overprinting and Processing Equipment and Packaging) would detect the red flags and remove the defective pages. What I don't know is if 1. - the equipment automatically swaps in a Star note page after the overprint is applied but before the notes are cut and wrapped???, or 2. -do they just feed in the requesite number of star note pages to complete the 20,000 page run at the end. If method 1 is followed, the star notes would be sprinkled throughout the 100-note packs. If method 2 is followed, there would possibly be straps of notes that don't start with 01 and end with 99 and the last bundle in the 640,000 note run would contain the motherload of star notes. Just curious if any cash handlers out there have seen evidence of method 1 or 2. Both methods would have their pro's and con's and I have not seen any articles that discuss the details to this detail. I know about the note on each BEP wrapped strapped regarding the possibility of serial numbers not being consecutive, but you could apply that statement to both methods.
how they are inserted is not a question I have an answer to but I do know that they are inserted at the same point that the defective sheet is removed. The reasdon for star notes is so that a bundle starting with 00 will always end with 49 Richard
I don't know if it helps or not but I got a run of tens with an anomaly. Throughout the run, there is a cycle of 4 face plate numbers and 4 back plate numbers -- except for one skip. I suspect the skipped one was a defective sheet that was pulled prior to the serial number printing. The $10's are series 2004A; Fort Worth facility; Serial Number - Face Plate - Back Plate GL01678380A - FW A 58 - 43 GL01678381A - FW A 55 - 44 GL01678382A - FW A 63 - 47 GL01678383A - FW A 58 - 43 GL01678384A - FW A 55 - 44 GL01678385A - FW A 64 - 46 GL01678386A - FW A 63 - 47 GL01678387A - FW A 58 - 43 GL01678388A - FW A 55 - 44 GL01678389A - FW A 64 - 46 GL01678390A - FW A 63 - 47 GL01678391A - FW A 58 - 43 GL01678392A - FW A 55 - 44 GL01678393A - FW A 64 - 46 GL01678394A - FW A 63 - 47 GL01678395A - FW A 58 - 43 GL01678396A - FW A 55 - 44 GL01678397A - FW A 64 - 46 GL01678398A - FW A 63 - 47 GL01678399A - FW A 58 - 43
I think you mean starts with 01 and ends with 00. This is the general practice that I've seen. I have yet to find a brand new bundle with Star notes in it. I've also read the rumor that when a given series is done, the BEP may issue full straps of star notes rather than destroy the remaining unissued notes. Don't know if there's any truth to that rumor, but would be sweet to find one of those straps.
adelv_unegv, one possible explanation for what you saw is that during the production run (20,000 sheets at a time), sheets are periodically removed for a closer inspection, then returned to the pallet. Obviously, the sheet that was inspected wouldn't be returned to it's exact same position in the stack.
From what I have been able to find out. 1. The stars are printed first. To be used as needed. 2. Old days they insurted them during the print process. Too time consuming. 3. The old 1929 (Brown seals) series, were replace as found. The serial numbers were hand stamped on the replacement sheets of bills. The numbers are mushy looking and sometimes out of line. 4. They then just replaced the defective sheet with a full star sheet.Still too time consuming. 5. Later they started changing out the pack, when finding a defect. Less time consuming. 6. Now when a defect is found, they now replace the entire brick of 4000 notes. 7. The way to "ID" the replaced notes today, is by their wrapping, from the printing facility. The regular runs are wrapped with a wrapper with straight bands. The replaced (Stars) have cross bands on the wrapper. I hope this has helped. -O)
