The topic today may interest all of us since most dream and wake up thinking about it. Some kill for it, oh yeah you must have seen the gory robbery scene. Some even sell their child for it. The more of it you have the more things you could do. It is money. It is the necessary evil, hate it or love it, you would need it at one time or another.
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How is it Made?
Paper money is made from a mixture of 75% wood pulp and 25% linen. "Paper" money is actually a misnomer. Currency in the US and most countries is actually made of cloth. It is different from paper used in writing materials, which is made from wood. Though in Nigeria we have the paper money in N1000, N500, N200, and N100 denomination while the polymer category include the N50, N20, N10, and N5.
- Special paper: That is the reason money feel different from any other paper you may come across. The "paper" is produced as shown below.
| A rotary digester uses steam and chemical to remove contaminants in cotton and linen | Tons of cotton and linen fibers drain and cool down waiting to be made into paper |
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Paper now ready for the minting press to be cut
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2. Special Ink
One of the ways to detect a counterfeit is by the color of the money. The special ink that is used in money minting is not available on the open market. There are several kinds of inks used to produce paper money, such as optically variable ink that changes color as the note is tilted, as well as ink that reacts to near-infrared light.
3. Offset Printing
This is the first printing that occurs on the blank paper note. Some .This is when some subtle background color of the money is printed. It is then allowed to dry for 3 days (72 hours) before proceeding to the next stage.
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3. Intaglio or Plate Printing
Intaglio is Italian for cut or engrave. Here is when the detailed printing is done; portraits, vignettes, scrollwork, numerals, and lettering that is unique to each denomination. It takes 72 hours for each side of the sheet to dry after printing. Then the process is repeated for the other side.
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Inspection
In order to ensure only the highest quality sheets move to the numbering operation, new notes undergo inspection using state-of-the-art computer technology.
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After cutting, pieces are inspected, counted and banded, and packaged in units of 1,000 notes.
4. Packaging
Money is now packaged and put in pallets ready to be moved by the Federal Reserve.
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Will physical money disappear in our lifetimes? Although many may say it’s not possible, it’s likely because paper currency does not allow anonymity (that won’t be tracked by banks and credit agencies) in purchasing, bulky and slow transaction speed.