U.S. paper money discriminates against the blind and must be redesigned to help sight-impaired people distinguish among dollar bills, tens, twenties and other amounts, a federal appeals court ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling today, rejected Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s contention that changing the bills to differentiate the denominations would be too expensive.

“A large majority of other currency systems have accommodated the visually impaired, and the secretary does not explain why U.S. currency should be any different,” Judge Judith Rogers wrote for the majority. “The financial costs identified by the secretary are not out of line with the costs of other currency changes the secretary has made”, she said.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson in Washington ruled in 2006 that the same-size paper currency violates the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination based on disability. An inability to identify the value of paper money without help from others leaves blind and sight-impaired people at risk of being cheated, he said.

Of 180 countries that issue paper money, only the U.S. prints bills that are identical in size and, until recently, color for all denominations.

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by Gregory Elich

North Korea, it is often said, is a criminal state. One of the more persistent stories supporting that allegation is that the North Koreans are counterfeiting U.S. currency. Through repetition, the claim has taken on an aura of proven fact. This in turn has been cited as justification for everything from imposing punitive measures against North Korea to suggesting that the nation cannot be trusted as a partner in nuclear negotiations.

The evidence against North Korea is widely regarded as convincing. “The North Koreans have denied that they are engaged in the distribution and manufacture of counterfeits,” says Daniel Glaser of the U.S. Treasury Department, “but the evidence is overwhelming that they are. There’s no question of North Korea’s involvement.”1 There is no denying that North Korean citizens have been caught passing counterfeit currency in Europe and Asia, and some defectors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK — the formal name for North Korea) claim to have first-hand knowledge of state-run counterfeiting operations. In Western media reports the case is treated as proven. Yet the closer one examines the matter, the murkier the picture becomes.

Counterfeit currency attributed to North Korea raises deep concern due to its extremely high quality. Dubbed supernotes, their production process closely matches that of the genuine article, and the engraving is so fine it rivals that of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.2

Unlike most of the world’s counterfeit currency, which is printed on offset presses or through digital processes, supernotes are printed on an intaglio press. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing uses Giori intaglio presses for the engraved portions of its bank notes, and an offset press for the background colors. Supernotes use the same technology. An intaglio press operates by applying ink on its plates and then wiping them clean, leaving ink only in the engraved lines. The plate is then pressed against the paper, depositing the ink in ridges. The result is raised printing that ordinary counterfeits can’t duplicate. Supernotes have the same look and feel as U.S. currency. (more…)

Amid glitz and the glamour Bushmills Distillery was put on the world stage April 22nd - by the Bank of Ireland.

In case anyone was unaware of the world famous Bushmills, the Bank of Ireland’s Governor came to Belfast to honour his favourite whiskey.

From yesterday a new Bank of Ireland £5 note bears a picture of the famous distillery with new £10 and £20 notes to follow next month.

Yesterday — in scenes reminiscent of Hollywood — the Bank of Ireland unveiled its series of new notes with a blaze of publicity.

Huge outdoor screens beamed the launch onto the bank’s HQ stopping hundreds of shoppers in their tracks.

The Bank of Ireland’s governor Richard Burrows said it was a special moment for him as back in 1972 he spent four years as the managing director of Bushmills Distillery.

He said: “I spent some very happy years on the North coast of Antrim and today we are celebrating the 400th anniversary of Bushmills Distillery.”

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Lyn Knight’s Chicago Paper Money Expo bank note auction March 28-29 drew 592 bidders who together helped push the overall total price realized to about $2.7 million dollars. Among the 478 successful buyers is new owner of a four-note uncut sheet of Original Series National Bank Notes from Montana Territory, issued by the First National Bank of Helena.

The sheet consists of three $1 notes and a single $2 note with the very popular “Lazy Deuce” design. This sheet surfaced in 2004, the first time it left the hands of the family that acquired it around 1870.

Knight said only three uncut sheets of any type are known from Territorial national banks, excluding the District of Alaska. One is the in the American Numismatic Association museum, leaving two available for collectors.

He graded this sheet very fine, and it sold for $299,000 dollars, including 15 percent buyer’s fee.

Other highlights of Knight’s 2,700-lot auction were an 1864 $50 Interest Bearing Note dated April 20, referenced as Friedberg 203 and graded fine by catalogers. It brought $54,625 dollars.

Another Interest Bearing Note, a $20 dated March 18, 1864, Fr. 197, graded Apparent VF-25 Net by PCGS Currency, crossed the block for $33,350.

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Heritage Currency Auction Contributes $14.2 Million toward $44 Million CSNS Event

Dallas, TX. The Official Currency Auction of the Central States Numismatic Society convention, held by Heritage Auction Galleries, realized $14,164,504, the largest currency auction ever, and the final total will be even higher after Post Auction Buys are concluded. Combining the rare coin and currency results, total prices realized at Central States currently exceed $44.4 million. More than 6,700 bidders participated in Heritage’s Signature events, and another 3,000-plus bid in the Final Sessions. The auctions were held in Rosemont, Illinois on April 16-18; Images, descriptions, and prices realized for all lots can be viewed at the Heritage website, HA.com.

“This was our largest Heritage currency auction ever,” enthused Allen Mincho, “surpassing even our fabled Taylor Family Collection auction in February of 2005. We were incredibly pleased with the results at Central States, but even more astonishing was the bidder participation. We have never seen so many bids placed through every means. On many lots, we would open and ten cards would shoot up in the room, and they would be competing against three bidders on the telephone and two more on Heritage Live. The bidding on many lots was so intense - and sustained - that they took ten minutes to sell! Many of the dealers present expressed their astonishment.

“As we expected,” concluded Len Glazer, “the market is continuing to react most strongly when rarity and quality are combined, but either one of those elements was sufficient to inspire spirited bidding. This was our best Central States Currency auction ever, and we are looking forward to our September auction in Long Beach.”

Highlights from Heritage’s Rosemont Central States Currency Signature Auction: (more…)