Is it possible to tell from photos, or these photos specifically, if this is indeed heavily under inked, simply worn, or tampered with? The lightness of the main design features is only present on the face of the note.
The BEP puts more ink into the overprint (the serial numbers and seal) than the face and back printings. Looking through a fresh pack, for example, two or three of the 100 will have minor smearing of the overprint because of the heavy inking.
Not necessarily *more* ink, but *different* ink. The intaglio printing uses very thick ink that sits above the paper in ridges and doesn't soak in. Therefore physical abrasion, as in the suggested washing machine, can more easily flake it off the paper. The serials and seals are ordinary surface printing, so they're going to be a lot less affected by that sort of thing.
I would say it's a genuine under inking error. Numbers is right about the type of ink used. However if the second printing is faded from the wash, we would expect to see the same effect on the reverse. Due to the condition, I wouldn't advise getting it graded/authenticated. The added cost will offset most of any potential profit if it were to come back as a genuine error.
Things are different when you look at them...through the washing machine. (Thumbs up if you catch the Alice in Wonderland joke, if you do I will give you a digital box of Kaboom cereal)
Here are a few more images. They may be more useful. The reverse *is* light, though from typical wear, and appears to have been inked normally. Thanks so much for all the responses!
