I found my first web note today . It's in poor condition but that's ok . The front plate number is the number one with no letter . Is this normal ?
Congratulations on your find! Yes, as Steve said, there is no front letter on web notes. Here's my web note- also no letter on the front.
Finding Web notes in circulation is becoming more of a challenge. They last came off the press over 20 years ago, and the notes being found are usually in poor shape.
I understand most of this but what does it mean by mine being a mule? Result for "1993 B39640161H" Run Number 7 Sheets 200,000 Est. Values (as of 2004) Uncirculated: $15 Extra Fine: $6 Fine: $2 Other Info Serial Number Range: 38 400 001 ↔ 44 800 000 Plates: 1 / 8 This note is a mule.
I think a Mule is when they use an old plate on the back & a new plate on the front - an example is a 1959 Wheat back penny - I was not aware that it could happen with Webs tho.... This is gonna be 1 of those educational threads
Found this on Heritage's site: Mule Notes Mule notes occur on both Large- and small-size notes. On Large-size notes beginning in 1921 when Frank White took office, new back plates were also created for notes being printed, however, the location of the plate number was changed! Detailed information can be found in "The Comprehensive Catalog of United States Large Size Star Notes" by Doug Murray. A small-size mule is a note that has a micro plate number on one side and a macro plate number on the other. Micro numbers measure 0.6mm and macros measure 1mm high. During the transition to all macro plates, both micro and macro plates were in use. Usually these different plates were side-by-side on the same press. This occurred because the BEP had a standard economic policy of using up obsolete plates rather than scrapping them. Whenever micro faces are paired with macro backs, or macro faces are paired with micro backs, a mule is produced. Some mule notes are scarce, while some are not. Sometimes the non-mule note is scarcer than the mule note for a given series. Mules are an intriguing part of collecting small size United States paper money.
I am confused . According to Web note lookup my note is a mule . The front and the back plate numbers look like micros . If they are the same it wouldn't be a mule would it .
Nice find to start the thread @Baryoung - looking at your pics it does look like the numbers are the same size. I don't have an answer yet, other than to say I'm still learning myself. Possibly the info they are providing may not be 100% reliable. I do think the values they give are on the low side.
@Baryoung & @furryfrog02 - I double checked both notes - did you notice both your notes are '93, B-H and both have front plate 1 / back plate 8?
Web notes were printed on a specifically designed press similar to a newspaper press. Instead of sheets, the BEP fed the Web press a 24,000 foot, 25 1/2 inches wide roll of security paper. Both sides of the note were printed on one run, in comparison to 32 subject sheets which have separate runs for both front & rear printings. Back in the day, Web notes were commonly found in circulation and uncirculated examples were not that expensive to purchase. Today, not so much. Serious Web note collectors use Bob Kvederas’s handbook/guide. I have never heard of a Web Mule.
now I want to learn more about mules - looking again at @furryfrog02 note I'm not sure. The 8 does look larger but that could be my bi-focals. I checked my small group and have a $2 and a $1* that I'm pretty sure are mules & the size difference is obvious. I Knew this thread would be educational