Up for sale is this FR# 1917-F, $1.00 Web Note, Series 1988-A, Federal Reserve Note, on the Atlanta District. This Web Note is from Run #1, with Plate #1 on the obverse and Plate #2 on the reverse. The note has big even margins on both sides of the note, and no paper handling or disturbances. I Grade this note as a Gem Uncirculated. Please look at the scans and judge the quality for yourself. If you need additional scans, please contact me.
Web Notes were specialized Federal Reserve Notes that were printed between May 1992 up until November of 1996, on an Alexander Hamilton Web Printing Press, that was purchased by the BEP specifically to print these notes. The idea behind the Web Printing Press was to reduce the cost of producing $1.00 banknotes, by combining first and second pass into one printing pass through the press. Costs were further reduced by printing directly off a roll of paper, instead of on sheets.
When paper is produced at a Paper Mill, the finished product is wound on to rolls of a uniform width. This allows the Paper machine to run at much higher speeds than if producing sheets right off the Paper Mill, and thereby reduce the effective cost per ton. Normally, the finished rolls of paper then must go to a Sheeter, where they are cut into sheets of paper of a uniform size. These sheets of paper are piled on a pallet or skid, usually with a uniform number of sheets per pallet or skid. The pallet or skid is then stretched wrapped to protect the sheets from getting edge damage in shipping or materials handling. The entire Sheeting process adds a fixed cost to the price per ton that you pay for the paper.
By completely eliminating the sheeting process and directly feeding rolls of paper into the printing press, you can get more printing impressions per roll than you can per pallet or skid, and you reduce the cost per ton of the paper that you are printing. You do however increase slightly the amount of time that it takes to load a roll unto the press, as pallets or skids are much easier to handle.
Web Note production SHOULD have reduced the cost per unit to produce $1.00 bills. They in reality did not because in my opinion, the BEP purchased the wrong Printing Press! They tried to take a printing press designed to print Newspapers, and modify it to print Banknotes, employing the Intaglio Printing Process. If they started with a higher quality Lithography (Offset) Printing Press, and then made the necessary modifications to print Intaglio, they probably could have achieved their goal over time.
The end result, was that the BEP determined that their waste factor was way too high and eventually discontinued the Web Printing process completely for banknotes, and sold the Alexander Hamilton Web Printing Press at a huge loss. The trial was a failure, and these notes ended up costing more to produce on a per unit basis, then normal $1.00 Federal Reserve Notes that are printed on a Sheet Fed Press.
No Web Notes have been produced since November of 1996. The specialty Printing Press that they were produced on, was dismantled and sold, so the BEP does not have the capability to produce these any longer. Get these Web Notes before they increase in price dramatically!
The signatures on this note are:
Treasurer of The United States: Catalina Vasquez Villalpando
Secretary of the Treasury: Nicholas F. Brady
I will only ship to confirmed Ebay addresses.
I will ship via USPS First Class Mail within the United States with Insurance & Tracking.
New Jersey Residents only must add 6.625% Sales Tax.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, or if you need better scans of the item, Bob [201] 843 1450 EBAY: Vette70
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Good Luck & Happy Hunting!