Cleaning/Conserving Paper Banknotes

Thanks. I do like to use Google to back up the stuff I offer opinions and facts about. In the case you cited, it dealt with methods and processes of printing (printmaking) which just so happened to be my focus of studies in college, traditional fine arts printmaking techniques. I adore the topic and how it can relate to my interest in numismatics. :smile

 

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I hope this isn't too far out of left field, even though it is rather off-topic, but it came to mind thinking of dirty money / washing currency. And I quote,

from the chapter 'Uneasy Money' (pg. 195) in Greenback: The Almighty Dollar and the Invention of America by Jason Wilson ©2003 Holt

This title is a really exciting read into the politics and personages of US currency history if any of you haven't heard of it or gotten to read it yet. Preview pages are available on Google Books too.

 

Well, I've turned up an interesting article from the New York Times dated May 12, 1913 which seems to indicate production and labor cost saving reasons for the idea of washing circulated notes at the BEP:

MORE CURRENCY WASHING. Four Treasury Machines Will Launder 100,000 Bills Daily.
(click 'view full article' button at the link)

The article is available as a free PDF download. <--- This is the article that will automatically prompt you that it is downloading.

Cited from the article:

And here the same image that eHow.com used, this time from the Dept. of the Treasury web site, in a wider, less cropped instance, showing the woman standing on the right side of the frame:



The caption reads,

Notice in the photo above that there appears to be four machines as indicated by the four vent pipes at the top of each workstation. The 1913 Times article above mentions four machines were in place at the Sub-Treasury in New York in that year and that Boston and Philadelphia each had one currency washing machine.

I wonder then if we can speculate correctly that the image of the washing machine is indeed the set up at the New York Sub-Treasury facility? That would be the Sub-Treasury Building at Nassau & Wall streets in New York City as seen in this image, also dated c.1915: [Credit: Irving Underhill -- from Robert McMahan Photography]



See more images of the Sub-Treasury building from New York Public Library Digital Gallery


Also note that the Federal Reserve was created in 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act.

 

Great info Krispy, thanks for digging it up!

Dave

 

I have a good example of a "cleaned" note. The top photo has the note with a teller stamp on the right side, and the lower photo shows the teller stamp removed.



....even with note in hand, you cannot tell anything was ever done with this note. This was done by a pro.

 

Definite improvement for eye appeal of the note itself. However, I'd like that to be mentioned if I was to purchase the note because in, say 20 years or so, the "cleaning" may reappear as a discoloration and it would be nice to have the reason for it.

 

May i ask how much it cost you to have that done? I would think it would be rellativly easy to clean a ink stain like that since it does not touch any of the design? I'm thinking of getting a bunch of ones from the bank and trying out different things to clean them.

 

It is not easy to remove ink embedded in natural fiber paper. It takes significant skill of a conservator of documents and works of art on paper.

The hardest thing you will find is how to do this without damaging the surface of the paper. It can be detected easily under magnification that the surface has been scraped, erased, wetted, chemically altered, etc. It's not that easy, but go ahead and try it so you can find out for yourself.

 

Krispy is correct , it is not easy to remove ink imbedded in natural fiber paper, especially when it's been there the better part of 70 years. I've tried it with different types of ink on common notes. I've tried acetone, bleach, and lacquer thinner. I tried it enough times to determine that I knew it was a job for a professional. I paid $40 plus shipping both ways, and I have fairly sophisticated lighting and magnafication at my disposal. I cannot tell the note has been altered.....but that's not to say what's going to happen, or not happen in the future. It will be in a TPG holder soon, which may or may not slow the process down. If the note wasn't so darn nice, great original paper, really clean, good margins, no folds or crinkles, a GEM note with a teller stamp, then I probably would have left it alone. It is super nice now, and flawless when viewed "in hand".

 

That looks to be a good job SteveinTampa.
Is is that the only example you have to show?

 

That is the only example that I own that has cosmetic improvements. I purchased it from a member of the Collectors Universe, (PCGS Forum) on their BST, and paid just a little over face because of the teller stamp. I'm not necessarily proud of this "doctored" note, and doubt I would do it again, or recommend to a fellow collector. Erasing light pencil marks, or placing a note between pages of a thick book is as far I'm likely to improve the originalty of future notes. It's just an example of what CAN be done.

 

Photo of the washing process at the BEP.

 

The best method I have found for cleaning dirty and worn banknotes is to soak them in a solution of warm water and Dawn dish soap. I use about half as much soap as I would to wash dishes. After the note has soaked for at least an hour I replace the water and repeat. Continue changing the water until it is no longer dirty after an hour or so of soaking. Finally soak the note in warm clear water for another half hour or so to rinse out the soap.
Place the note between a few sheets of blotter paper under a heavy book (The SCWPM is about right) over night. Replace the blotter paper with dry sheets and repeat. Do this until the note no longer wants to wrinkle and curl when exposed to the air (2-3 times).
While this would be a terrible thing to do to a VF or better note, it will certainly improve the condition of a filthy and well worn note.