so i picked up this 1990 $50 st louis note the other day. it's in great shape, and appears to have a little extra ink on the front in several places, either from a transfer or bleed though or something. so my question is: is this considered an error (and if yes, what kind)? or is it simply a natural artifact from the printing process? thanks for looking! (don't pay attention to the left margin, that's cut off by the image and is not the actual cut of the note)
It is an error note with offset printing. I sold this one about a year ago for $100 but it was a graded piece.
i have another question on the same note. the back shows some of the same ink transfer signs. does such an offset error usually present itself on both sides of the note? you can see it in the "50" at the top left and right, across the top margin, and in the "fifty dollars" across the bottom, as well as a few other places.
Mine had some offset on the back as well. Just not as severe or noticeable but in the same general location as yours..
sounds good. i know i've seen this on many notes of various denominations while working at the bank, but i never found it worthwhile from a collection standpoint to buy them up (at face value) until i saw this somewhat older-date large denom. is there actually a market for something like this?
it's not extra ink. its just ink bleed form the back. it is very common. i worked at a bank for many years and have seen thousands of notes like the one you have posted. it was very prominent in $50's @ sam. the graded note you posted is a little more extreme than a lot that i have seen. but definitely not uncommon. honestly i am not quite sure why that note was graded as an error.
here is just one example. while not as dramatic as the 2 notes already posted the bleed is very noticeable. i have seen straps of 50's with the bleeding.
i appreciate your input as well. i'm not educated in such error types so i don't know how to tell whether the markings are from bleeding or transfer. i will agree though, that i have seen quite a few notes with these markings pass through my teller drawer in the three years i've worked at the bank.
Perhaps it is the extent of the offset. Maybe they treat it like a rotated die on coins. It's not considered for an error with a premium until it goes beyond the mint's tolerances. It was a large dealer at the Dallas Show I sold it to, who specialized in error's.
it was very prevalent in the notes from the 90's. as you can see by all 3 examples posted. @sam. yours is quite a bit darker than most i have seen. i know you can even feel the embossing from the back of the note on the front on a lot of those notes
I must agree with urbanchemist. I have a handful of notes that exhibit this bleed-through effect. It's definitely not an offset error. An offset error is when the printing plate comes in contact with the impression cylinder. That happens when a sheet doesn't make it all the way into the press. When the cylinder and plate make contact, the ink is transferred to the impression cylinder. Then when the next sheet comes in, the impression cylinder inks the design onto the opposite site. I'm not sure why PCGS graded it as such.
I never stared at the note that closely, but perhaps they determined there was actual ink on the face of the note, and you were not seeing a bleed-through. It would be in the same position if it was an off set, and I'm sure they have seen many of these mistaken and submitted by collectors before. Plus, the dealer looked at it very closely, with a loupe, before he was satisfied. As mentioned, he specialized in errors and was not a small operator. I was referred to him by several other dealers from the show. They said he was the best one there to approach. He too must have agreed with PCGS or he was very blind to the situation for a specialist. It just doesn't add up, but it sure doesn't make me feel bad either way. I didn't loose any money on the transaction and now someone else has it.
perhaps someone will be able to educate me on whether the following is even possible. what is the likelihood that the notes were printed and then stacked while still somewhat wet? could such a thing cause a transfer from the back of one note to the face of the note beneath it?
it is possible. but i think in the case of these notes it was just heavy inking that just bled through.
In the 1950s the BEP tested many different inks with non-offset properties to prevent wet transfers. The ink is fast-drying, but I think the BEP still has a 72-hour drying time for sheets before different rounds of printing.
so the probability of a "wet stack offset" so to speak is pretty minimal. cool. i had thought about throwing this thing up on ebay, because i see similar notes being listed as offset errors and selling for $80+. i wasn't sure i believed the error type, and i didn't want to mis-represent the note to an unknowing buyer (like i would have been had i not come here and asked first). thanks!
