I am trying to find information online about the 2 different types of 1869 $1 Rainbow notes. To my eye, there are clearly 2 different paper types that were used to create the notes. One paper type has a blue background on the left-hand side of the note, while the other paper type does not have the blue background. See photos below of these two different types. All of my guide books and online sources declare that there was only 1 type of these notes, produced, but that's obviously not the case. The one with the blue background is much more colorful and beautiful. Since people regard this note as one of the all-time most beautiful dollars every made, I am surprised that no mention is made of the 2 types of paper. It seems like the bluer variety would command a higher value. If anyone can point me to info about the paper types used to create these varieties, I would appreciate it!!
It's faded. I can still see the blue. Notice the note didn't achieve PPQ. Look how bright the black ink is on the top note.
That isn't a star--it's just a star. More precisely, it's not a symbol for a replacement note, the way stars are used today. It's just an ordinary serial number suffix. Many large-size notes use symbols, rather than letters, at one or both ends of the serial number. All U.S. Notes of Series 1869 have the star suffix, so it doesn't make this note any more special than any other 1869 $1.
Those two types of 1869 notes are called "faded" and "unfaded"... as Mitch said. No real difference other than ink loss in circulation. And as noted by numbers, those stars aren't stars in the later sense - every one of those notes has a star. Sort of like a Texaco sign... they all have a star.
I respectfully disagree that the one type is simply "faded," or has "ink loss." I have included another comparison of the two types, below. These are bills showing similar amounts of wear and tear. To my eye, they are clearly printed on two different types of paper. The first example, below is blueish paper, while the second example is yellowish/whitish paper. Note the blue "shaded" area behind "UNITED STATES" at the top of the notes. On the first example, below, the shading fades out very smoothly into the background. On the second example, below, the shading is very crisp, and does not fade into the background. Look at the photo of the men on the left of each note, where this is especially pronounced. Also, look at the upper and lower margins of the first note. The blue shading continues all the way to the edges of the note. In the second note, the blue shading does not continue to the edges. http://writeanddesign.com/dollarbills.jpg
Time, storage conditions, and what's been done to them can have a wide range of affects on paper and ink. I looked in two references that I would expect to see something if there was anything different. Two of the members that answered your question and I know are very experienced note collectors/researchers. After 150+ years and the inconsistency they had with their process back then (as mentioned in the History of the American Bank Note Company) I would expect to see differences. Welcome to CoinTalk
I'll go on to say that one book I have states the paper for all Legal Tender notes from 1869 were produced in Glen Mills, PA using a new patented process invented by James M. Willcox in 1866. That sounds pretty definitive to me.
I've been casually looking/shopping for a mid-grade to CHCU Fr-18 with original paper quality for almost 2 years now, and I can tell you that I've seen all sorts of different coloring on all of them. The better ones, to me, are the notes that have a bluish tint to the left of Washington's portrait. Some have it, and some don't. Most dealers I've spoken to tell me the desirable notes will have more of the bluish tint, which is why these notes are known as Rainbow notes.
Glad to hear that there's someone else who agrees with me on this! Surprised it's not discussed more in the literature.
Steve did not say anything about different types of paper. "All were printed on paper with a band of tinted blue from embedded microscopic fibers. The $1 and $10 denominations are now called "Rainbow Notes," from the light green, dark green, and red overprints." from the book: Whitman Encyclopedia of U.S. Paper Money We are talking about the 1860's, controlling the amount of ink in the over prints was not a science. With embedded fibers no two notes will be the same and can vary dramatically based on the amount of fibers. This issue is also found in the 4th and 5th issue fractional notes.
I don't think he was agreeing with you: "I've seen all sorts of different coloring on all of them." Yes, there are some notes with a lot more blue tint than other notes. No, there are not two separate types, "blue tint" and "no blue tint". There's strong blue tint and faint blue tint and medium blue tint and hundreds of variations in between. Notes with more blue tend to be more desirable, but they're not a separate type/variety because there's no place you can draw a line between "blue" and "no blue". It's like, notes that are well-centered are more desirable than notes that are poorly centered, but nobody is going to try to assign separate catalog numbers to "well-centered 1869 $1" and "poorly-centered 1869 $1". What would that even mean? (The 1928 and 1934 "dark green seal" and "light green seal" notes are an example of what happens when the catalogs try to list such "varieties". Everybody knows that the light green is more valuable, but nobody can actually agree on what constitutes "light green" or "dark green", because there are hundreds of shades of green, not two.)
Correct. I do not believe the coloring/tinting on any of these notes has to do with different types of paper. Most fellow collectors and dealers I spoke to attribute the differences to environmental circumstances.....i.e. fading, handling and age.
I referenced my edition of The Comprehensive Catalog of US Federal Large-Size Notes by Chambliss/Hessler (2014) and on page 48 it says; "Most notes have a blue localized stain (Wilcox Paper), but some of the earlier printings lack this feature"
And I would add that the fact that the two "light blue" notes above are "B" block [early block], while the darker ones are "K" and "V", lends support to this.
I think some research into the paper itself is in order. Willcox's Chameleon Paper was used for currency and other Treasury products such as taxpaid revenues. This patented paper reacted to chemicals by changing color -- preventing things like washing out ink cancellations. I suspect other elements such as sunlight exposure may have affected the paper's tint due to its treatment.
there are two types of notes type one and type two type one was printer with a blue tint and type two the green on the top comes down to the bottom of the S in stats and on blue tint
This is a very old thread, interesting to reread it. Victor, do you have any documentation to back up you comment?
