I learned the hard way about cleaned and treated coins, so it seems worthwhile to ask similar and basic questions about paper money. While reading the "Paper Money" forum over the years, I've heard references to "ironed bills" or "altered bills." Are these roughly equivalent to cleaned coins? I'm guessing that one can tell whether a bill has gone under the iron by looking at it, but how much does this affect the value? As much as whizzing a coin? For example, the bill below looks "okay" overall, but the three large almost parallel folds obviously detract quite a bit aesthetically. Plus, they look "flattened" to me, but I could be wrong. Would people suspect this as an "ironed" bill? Another example from my own collection is below - the folds look "flattened" to me - would this be considered "treated" in any way? You should be able to click on the picture to zoom in for more detail. What other things should one look for when trying to determine whether a bill was "treated?" I've also heard about edge trimming and "creative" inking. Do any good books exist that would answer some of these questions? I'm still learning the ways of paper money and this forum has helped quite a bit, so thank you!
I, personally, feel that one must have the note in hand to tell if it was treated. Some currency has been "conserved" and TPG will often mention that on the label. It usually has to do with the quality of the paper, which can't be determined from a photo unless it was really botched. Our expert currency collectors may have other opinions and can add to this. @SteveInTampa? @mpcusa? Others?
There does exist, professional conservation. Bills, documents, comic books and the like can be "pressed". In many cases such as comic books, this can raise the value of same quite a bit. The services are not cheap, but sellers who are honest will mention this if they know about it. Of course, like slabbing a coin, it should only be done to something of greater value to offset any costs associated with the service.
Any post-printing manipulation will detract significantly from the value of a note, if it can be detected. If it's graded, it will receive comments as well as likely a "Net", and personally I'd avoid it like the plague if you are considering value and return on the notes. Often you need the note in hand (ironically that includes not being in a TPG holder) to determine what's happened to it. A note that's wrinkled or folded should look more like a piece of paper you wrinkled up and flattened with your hands than a piece of paper you soaked in water and flattened with an iron. A note that is completely limp is a bad sign. A note where the ink is consistently faded has often been cleaned. A note that smells like chemicals is a red flag. An engraved note where you can't feel a bit of engraving is a red flag.
Do you mean that a note should have a different feel to the surface were there is ink and were there is not ink?
It really takes a while for a collector to pick up the differences between a soft pressed banknote VS a hard (ironed) pressed note. Actually the ironed pressed notes are the easiest to detect because the heat saps the colour and the notes becomes dull. Ironed (hard pressed) notes are easy to spot. A soft pressed note is a bit more challenging. Its a note that's been left in between books or flattened by weights over time. You can tell that b/c there's no folds/creases (where you can see the lines from the creases/folds) and the note is flat. Its usually a bit soiled but flattened out for the VF & lower grades. No embossing (where the serial numbers were printed) shadows from the back of the note. This would be hard to see in notes that are VF or lower (like the notes you've posted). Most of the old notes we see have been pressed and many have also been washed (literally washed in water with detergent). You don't need bleach. Detergents can clean up a note (brighten it up) but the paper becomes limp & they even shrink a bit after drying. Sometimes details in the fine print (serial numbers/signatures) become a bit blotchy after washing. I bought a few soft-pressed notes which I graded years later (& got no "Original" or "EPQ" designation). They're the really tough ones to spot as they usually were EF-AU & looked pretty good to begin with, but the owner left them under weights to flatten them out. I still see collectors posting enquiries on how to flatten out their notes on other forums (& my short answer is "no") but there's many seasoned collectors who advise steaming & all sorts of gimmicks (just 'doctoring' a note in my books). If you're an honest collector you just don't alter a note in any way. Wrinkles are better to see than a flattened out note. The reason I encourage new collectors to seek TPG (Third Party Graded) notes (esp online) is b/c its so hard to discern the soft pressed notes from UNC. Scans make it nearly impossible to detect one from the other. It's an unfortunate fact that there are still many characters out there who will continue to doctor/process their notes to make them look better & that's one of the reasons I have to endorse TPG (especially for the more pricey notes).
Yes. Grab a brand new bill from the back as your reference. You may see what's called embossing where the serial numbers are pressed into the note, but you should also be able to feel the engraving ink as a slightly rough surface. Of course the engraving feel will only exist on engraved notes, but if you're collecting US, then mostly they will be.
US paper money has embossed ink. One of the things the BEP uses as a teaching tool for counterfeit detection is to gently run a fingernail across the printing, especially, the lapel, you should feel the embossing on a genuine note, something modern laser printers cannot duplicate. The printing of US currency is achieved by inking and engraved plate and then pressing the paper into the engraving to pick up the ink. On a new note, the engraving is quite visible, all use after the printing will wear away at the embossing and eventually the ink. But the embossing can still be felt on a worn note. A folded note can be flattened to remove the fold and if it wasn't circulated with the fold, the evidence will be very hard to see and if so, probably will not affect the grade much. But a note that has been folded, carried in a wallet folded and just circulated while folded will cause the ink in the fold to become worn more than the surrounding ink. This will be forever obvious, and the more evidence is visible the lower it will grade. Corners of notes wear quickly, and the evidence will affect the grade. Grading of notes based on wear is not that much different than coins, paper money getting wet is just a part of circulation and will affect the grade. As far as pressing a note, banks put notes in bundles then put ten bundles together and wrap the whole thing in rubber bands. If the folds were straitened before doing this, the notes will be extremely flat when removed from the master bundle. Makes for easy counting in a counting machine. Most bookkeepers with a little OCD will do the same with all currency before it is deposited in the bank. I was one of those once and couldn't stand wrinkled money. All of these techniques are common and a part of regular circulation just the same as putting coins in a roll. Paper money is graded on other aspects including wear with one being justification or how well the print is centered on the note. The best way to learn wear on a note is to get a new note and carry it in your pocket and observe the wear. You will be surprised at how fast paper currency deteriorates compared to coins.
Unless you're a brick layer (or have loads of callouses on your fingertips), you should be able to feel a difference between a banknote & regular paper. They're worlds apart. Notes have been made of a cotton-rag mixture & other materials (eg: flax) to form a more durable "substrate." Different series may also have a different feel. Printing companies have used variations in the percentage of pulp to linen/cotton in order to improve a note's longevity. It has usually changed over time (esp: WWII era notes). The inks were raised so that they would give a specific feel & the printing process creates the embossing I wrote about earlier. New currency also has a distinct odour so it may be a good idea to smell some regular new notes. The smell diminishes on older worn notes (& they can just smell bad on soiled/oily notes). As @Hommer & @Dave M suggested it wouldn't hurt to go through a stack of ONES in various stages of circulation, feel them & try to estimate their grades. Another look-for is the centre of the design (or the width of the margins) & whether the front design lines up with the reverse design (registration). All these are factors considered going into the numbers of higher grade notes. Here's another thread re: grading banknotes on Numista with some links/online resources. I have no problem admitting I was very inconsistent at grading banknotes initially - it just took me a while to develop a critical eye & to practice applying the standards objectively. BTW: even today's polymer (if you ever get to check it out) has raised ink & a distinct feel to it.
