HERITAGE: VIGNETTES IN ANTI-COUNTERFEITING

Counterfeit currency has always been a problem for governments past and present. This is especially true for U.S. paper currency, where both state and Federal governments attempting to thwart counterfeiters since the very beginning of paper currency production. Today, the U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving (BEP) uses a plethora of devices and techniques to prevent counterfeiting from using special paper and security strips embedded in the paper, to unique designs, microprinting, and special watermarks for each denomination printed. Today, people less often use physical paper currency in their day-to-day transactions, however for consumers (in the U.S. and abroad) to maintain their trust in the U.S. Dollar, the BEP and Secret Service must maintain their standards of security and control of U.S. paper currency production. But how did previous governments in the United States combat counterfeiting without the benefit of today's modern technology?

Pennsylvania
April 10, 1777 £4
PMG About Uncirculated 53 EPQ

New Jersey
April 8, 1762 £6
PMG About Uncirculated 50

During the colonial period of U.S. history, counterfeiters were a consistent problem especially as they were backed by the British government as a political weapon. Even when engravers and printers put the punishment for counterfeiting in a note's design, TO COUNTERFEIT IS DEATH and other such variations (see the New Jersey issue of April 8, 1762 and New York issue of February 16, 1771), counterfeiters did not stop working in Colonial America. Engravers quickly moved to other methods of deterring counterfeits, from using the best paper possible (when they could afford to), indenture designs on the face and back, "secret marks" (though these fell out of fashion quickly), and most interestingly, intricate designs and vignettes on the face and back of the note.

One of the first checks against counterfeiters was to hire the best craftsmen as engravers. In fact, one of the easiest ways to determine that a note is a counterfeit is by looking at the artistic quality of the engraved vignettes and comparing them to notes that have been established as genuine by experts. The vignettes seen on counterfeit notes are generally poor imitations of vignettes on genuine notes. Benjamin Franklin used this idea to develop a process to engrave nature prints onto the backs of Colonial paper currency, which such notes as the Delaware May 1, 1758 20s, Maryland January 1, 1767 $8, New Jersey April 8, 1762 £6, Pennsylvania May 20, 1758 15s, or the Continental Currency January 14, 1779 $80, and many in between utilized. While a small number of colonies issued notes with these designs, due to the length of use it seems to have worked to some extent as an anti-counterfeiting tool.

Continental Currency
April 11, 1778 $20
PMG Choice About Unc 58 EPQ

Once U.S. paper currency moved to the Obsolete era in the early 19th century, engravers across different companies in the United States continued to use complicated and artistically impressive vignettes as a tool against counterfeiters. There are many beautiful vignettes used on Obsolete bank notes, but one that I find particularly interesting is the Boston, MA- Cochituate Bank $1,000 coming up for auction in Heritage's Summer Obsolete Showcase. In the upper right corner of the bank note sits a small vignette of an ancient sculpture, the Laocoön, currently on display at the Vatican Museums in the Statues Courtyard. The note was designed by the New England Bank Note Company (NEBNCo) in the mid-19th century, though we do not know who the engraver was. One of the engravers who worked for the NEBNCo in some capacity may have seen the sculpture in person, as a handful of the known engravers did spend a few years in Europe. However, prints of the sculpture were popular in Europe and America, so the engraver could have used that as a reference instead of the original.

Serial Number 9
Boston, MA- Cochituate Bank
$1,000 Nov. 20, 1851 UNL
PCGS Banknote Very Fine 20 Details

The vignette of the sculpture is not a one-to-one match to the original sculpture, however. The engraver added back the two sons' missing arms (left arm for both sons) and the face of Laocoön himself in the vignette does not convey the same feelings of despair that the sculpture does. That being said, the vignette still shows the impressive artistic talent of the engraver. The company marketed this vignette to Massachusetts and New York banks as a defense against counterfeiting for these high denomination notes because of the complicated design. Beautiful, interesting, and scarce vignettes have always been a reason for paper currency collectors to acquire Colonials and Obsoletes, but it is important to understand that outside of eye-appeal, these vignettes had a purpose for the engraver. From Benjamin Franklin's nature prints to the Laocoön, engravers have used the vignettes in their designs to make it harder for counterfeiters to defraud the public. You can view some of the notes mentioned in this article in our upcoming Summer Obsolete Showcase August 9 and Summer Colonial Showcase on September 6.

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