How white is old paper?
stevereecy
Posts: 205 ✭✭✭
Hey guys,
I lack the experience to know whether the paper on this note is white enough. I try to compare it to other notes online and wonder how much of their whiteness is photo processing? The note looks pretty white when some light is passing through from the back but not so much from just overhead.
I still have time to return this and I’m trying to educate myself on the back end.
Thanks
Steve
Really enjoying collecting coins and currency again
My currency "Box of Ten" Thread: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1045579/my-likely-slow-to-develop-box-of-ten#latest
My currency "Box of Ten" Thread: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1045579/my-likely-slow-to-develop-box-of-ten#latest
2
Comments
I believe it looks average for its grade. I’ve seen brighter paper on AU and UNC notes or XF notes with original paper qualities, but with wear and circulation comes a slight darkening. A lot of these notes have already been given a bath by the government.
Thanks. I’ve been wrestling with this in a vacuum.
My currency "Box of Ten" Thread: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1045579/my-likely-slow-to-develop-box-of-ten#latest
The "color" of currency paper has varied since the 1860s. Although it is white paper, over the years it's often appeared with a slight tint of grey or beige or cream, and had either a dull or bright appearance. And, as Steve mentioned, the BEP briefly had a laundering process for currency around the turn of the Twentieth century, which may have affected the color of many circulated large size notes in the market today.
Compared to bleached copy paper, these large size notes shouldn't be anywhere near THAT white. The paper used for all of them are various degrees of off white, some from the start when manufactured by Crane & Co. of Dalton, MA and many others from environmental factors including sunlight or chemical exposure and circulation, accumulated over the years.
I like @Jamericon's description of light "cream" or "beige" as the color of the paper of large size currency. This paper is made from linen, not trees, and not bleached to get it as white as possible.
And then we could get into the exceptions- the rainbow paper used for the 1869 Legal Tenders and some Nationals and fractionals but that only complicates things.
The paper on your note looks nice and original to me in the photo. I don't see anything unusual or problematic.