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Paper for Banknotes
German banknotes are to the largest extend produced from paper. But we find also bills made from other materials, which are mostly emergency money notes.
Right from the beginning of the banknote production the paper, from which a banknote was made, was an important measure for the protection of the bills - protecting it against forgery. The paper had to provide some good security features. But it also had to be very durable. These requirements were sometimes contradicting. To satisfy these needs paper mills or specialised departments from paper mills were created to develop and produce paper specifically for banknotes.
Initially the watermark was the dominating security feature in the banknote paper. But soon other anti-forgery techniques complemented them. These include:
- the use of multiple layers of paper, whereby the middle layer had a print – giving a similar effect as a watermark
- inclusion of coloured silk threats in the paper
- inclusion of coloured vegetable fibres in the paper (Wilcox method)
- small bits of printed paper to be mixed into the paper raw material (Giesecke&Devrient)
- planchette paper, where small coloured paper plates are included in the paper
- inclusion of a security threat (textile or metal)
The special paper used for banknotes is being produced and treated very carefully and secure. The exact production methods and paper ingredients are usually kept secret to not give away any information to forgers. Often the banknote paper is being treated as securely as the finished banknotes. All sheets are registered, counted and confirmed each time they are being dealt with.
The different paper consistency, colour, and structures help collectors to identify version of a banknote, but also make sure a banknote is not a counterfeit.
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