Web notes
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Web notes were a series of experimental printings for the Series 1988A to Series 1995 dollar bill from 1991 to 1996 by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The experiment was to see if a web press was quicker and cheaper than intaglio printing.
Intaglio vs. Web Press
In May of 1991, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing installed a web press at the Washington, DC printing facilities to test it, as a new way of printing $1 bills. BEP officals hoped that the test would replace the Intaglio presses by switching to a possibly quicker and less expensive method of printing.
There are several differences between the two types of presses:
Intaglio (Old Way)
- Sheet fed. Sheets precut to size. (32 bills, 4 by 8, approx. 20in by 24in)
- Intaglio prints three times, once on each side for front and back, and then once more for seals, serial numbers, and plate numbers.
- 32 notes printed, in three stages
- Delivered over 8,000 sheets per hour.
Web Press (Experimental)
- Fed by a continuous paper roll
- Printed both sides of a note simultaneously
- Created 96 notes in one pass
- Delivered 10,000 sheets in 35 minutes
One could compare the printing of web notes to the printing of newspapers and other printed media.
Problems arose with the web press. The main problem was its inability to sustain long continuous runs compared to intaglio, resulting in constant breakdown. In addition, the quality of the prints were subpar compared to the established method. Due to these factors, the web press was discontinued in July 1996.
Identifying web notes
A currency note that was printed on a web press (referred to as a web note) can be identified by two distinct characteristics.
The following images illustrate the differences. The top note in each image is a web note; the bottom note is a sheet fed note.
The red box indicates the face plate number on a web note, where the blue boxes indicate the face plate number in the bottom right corner and a position indicator number in the upper left corner on a sheet-fed note. Also, on sheet fed notes, the plate numbers are preceded by a letter; in some cases FW may precede the letter on the lower right corner; this indicates that the note was printed at the BEP facility at Fort Worth, Texas.
On the web note, the back plate number is just to the side of TRUST in the motto IN GOD WE TRUST (red box). On the sheet fed note, the back plate number is to the lower right corner of the central white space (blue box).
Web notes were made for three series of dollar bills.
| Series | Treasurer of the United States | Secretary of the Treasury |
|---|---|---|
| 1988A | Catalina Vasquez Villalpando | Nicholas F. Brady |
| 1993 | Mary Ellen Withrow | Lloyd Bentsen |
| 1995 | Mary Ellen Withrow | Robert Rubin |
Key Issues
Of the series, Series 1988A bills hold the two key issues (issues with the most collector value).
Notes of the New York FRB and the Atlanta FRB are the two keys. FRBNY used the B-L serial number block, while FRBA used a Star Note serial number block (F-*), with the specific serial numbers in place of the dash. While an accurate print run has never been disclosed by the BEP (as the figures were combined with the intagilo runs), estimates are 1,920,000 notes for the B-L serial number block for the FRBNY, and 640,000 for the F-* serial number block for FRBA.
FRBNY B-L notes can fetch from $300 for circulated examples, to $1,300 for uncirculated examples. FRBA F-* notes can fetch from $600 for circulated examples, to $1250 for uncirculated examples.
References
- A Guide Book Of United States Paper Money: Complete Source for History, Grading, and Prices by Arthur L. Friedberg (Compiler), Ira S. Friedberg (Compiler), and Q. David Bowers. ISBN: 0794817866
Portions of this article use material from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing website, which is in the public domain.
External Links
Bureau of Engraving and Printing Links
Collector Links