Mirror Mirror on my Vignette

Tookybandit

I picked up a cool note from a board member this evening! Check out the fair maiden vignette on the right. It is the same image as a world note I have but it is mirrored and facing the opposite direction! Can the experts tell me if this is a common occurrence on obsoletes? Was this image "borrowed" and copied by the printer of the Mexican note?



Feel free to post your obsoletes with matching vignettes!

Berny

These kind of vignette reversals are not common. So let us look at why they are not. The siderographic printing process proceeds in the following order:



1. die engraving (say Left looking)

2. transfer roll (Right looking)

3. plate (Left)

4. note (Right)



To get a true reversed image on the note starting with the SAME die would require a different process from the above, either adding or subtracting a step.



Many times more than one die is produced, typically done by different engravers. This is partially done for training. Part of the training is to reverse a vignette.



So the most likely scenario in your case is probably two such different dies. Your two vignettes were definitely not from the same die. I suspect that the sizes of the two vignettes are different? The two printing companies were not related. Look at details of the engravings. There are many differences, especially the hands and feet.



So if the copier used the green note (looking left) as a model to engrave a new die and goes through the siderographic printing process, the new note will have the vignette looking right.



I have several examples that also show these kinds of reversals.

Berny

Here is a pair of reversed vignettes.

numbersman

That is cool! Learning new things everyday keeps you young!

Tookybandit

Awesome! Thanks Bernie for the information, and I love the reversed train vignette!!!