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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;funkee, post: 1565681, member: 37925&quot;]Edit Reason: Revised explanation.</p><p><br /></p><p>Fort Worth notes are not mules. A mule is by definition a note with face plates and back plates from different series.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the early days of small size notes, around 1938, new back plates were introduced with larger &quot;macro&quot; plate numbers. This change actually prompted the BEP to advance the notes a series, even though the signatures did not change. Back plates were changed across denominations in different series, but this was not done very quickly because the reverse designs did not change. The first mules to appear were:</p><p><br /></p><p>1935 $1 Silver Cert</p><p>1928C $2 Legal Tender</p><p>1934 $5 Silver Cert</p><p>1928B $5 Legal Tender</p><p>1934 $5 FRN </p><p>1934 $10 Silver Cert</p><p>1934 $10 FRN</p><p>1934 $20, $50, $100 FRN</p><p><br /></p><p>As I mentioned, the series advanced due to the change to larger plate numbers. Mules of the above series came out with older (micro) face plates paired with newer (macro) back plates. This was the case for the majority of the first mules from this era. </p><p><br /></p><p>The series year/letter were advanced not because of a change in signatures, but simply because of the new plate number size. But because the designs of the front and back did not change, and the BEP had a policy of using all unused printing plates, a large number of notes were printed with micro/macro combinations.</p><p><br /></p><p>Aside from a small run of 1935A $1 silver certificates, the majority of mules had micro front plates and macro back plates. But over time, the newer face plates with macro numbers were being used on all the presses. There was no possibility of using micro face plates, because once the signatures were changed, new plates had to be produced. But then, what occurred was a different kind of mule. The newer macro face plates were sometimes paired with the older micro back plates. That&#039;s the opposite of what happened before! As time passed, these mules became rarer as the BEP used up all of the left-over plates. The last mules of this era were the 1950 $50 and $100 bills. So all later mules had newer macro face plates with older micro back plates.</p><p><br /></p><p>Both combinations of small size mules actually exist. There&#039;s likely many more mules in more modern notes, by the strict definition of it. But because the back plate numbers and positions are the same, it&#039;s impossible to differentiate them without actually knowing the plate numbers for print runs.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the time of large size notes, the plate number sizes were all the same. They were in a different position on the reverse design as the series changed, however. So a Speelman White or Elliot White mule for example, will have a back plate number in the spot where Burke notes had it.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=CONFIG]213425[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]213426[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The plate number position did not change for small size notes, however; although there are some unique errors where the plate number was engraved on the wrong side!</p><p><br /></p><p>With the opening of the Fort Worth facility, the back plate numbers for the notes printed at the FW facility were increased in size. The Washington DC notes kept the smaller back plate number and the FW notes had a larger back plate number. This is the case for all properly printed notes. They are not inherently mules despite the different size back plate numbers. </p><p><br /></p><p>The 295 Error occurred on the 1995 $1 series note, where the size of the back plate number on the Forth Worth note was actually the size of the Washington DC back plate number. See: <a href="http://snorkack.nfshost.com/fw295/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://snorkack.nfshost.com/fw295/" rel="nofollow">http://snorkack.nfshost.com/fw295/</a></p><p><a href="http://snorkack.nfshost.com/fw295/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://snorkack.nfshost.com/fw295/" rel="nofollow"><br /></a></p><p><a href="http://snorkack.nfshost.com/fw295/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://snorkack.nfshost.com/fw295/" rel="nofollow"></a>I can&#039;t tell from the blurry photo, but I have a feeling that the back plate number for this note is the smaller Washington DC size. Hence the notation &quot;FW Error&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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