I've been collecting the 1914 $5 FRN series for a year or two and have noticed striking differences in the color shades on the notes. Obviously notes from this era have been tampered with, but some of the higher grade/PPQ notes just look different. Does anyone have any feedback on this? Should I stop drinking?
Sorry i can't provide any feedback, but any reason you're collecting "1914 $5 FRN"? Why so specific? Also i would throw in a guess, i mean over time colors deteriorate if not taken care of properly.
Well, let's see, Coins R Us. There are twelve distinct types, A through L districts. If you count stars, then you have 24 notes. Also, this is a relatively inexpensive series, so many large-size collectors like to assemble collections from each FRB or (with luck) find star notes.
It's printed with ink. Ink can fade if left in direct sunlight or go through a washing machine. Or it could be that a new batch of ink was made and a slight variation in color was created.
That's what I'm thinking Nut. I've seen several notes where the reverse has much more blue in it. Like I said, higher grade original notes. Washed ones don't count!
Notwithstanding all of the opportunities for fading and other deterioration, I'm sure that there was a lot more variation in the production process than there would be today.
