I have a couple of "banknotes" I can not figure out. I was told they are specimen notes but I have never seen any like these. They at first glance look like bills cut in hald but looking closely it is easy to see they are only half printed. Also the serial number and the color plate is missing, they are only printed on one side, the paper is old but way too thick to be a currency note. There is a black line running through them. Can not figure it out. A local currency expert says they are not fake but fake what? Anyone know abouth these? Help is greatly appreciated.
I wouldn't label them as banknotes. The black line through the image is the universal sign that they are not real. Recently the BEP has started using the word COPY (in red) on banknote images seen on their souvenir cards. Your description sounds like they are printed on card stock, but I'm unable to tell who printed them or when. This is the souvenir card printed by the BEP that features this iconic design.
Yes, these are pages removed from a Heath's counterfeit detector. Banks didn't need a full banknote reprint, just part of one for comparison. I was able to find the $20 note in an 1878 detector: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt...thumb&seq=66 I think the $5 woodchopper was probably from a similar detector from the 1870s. Fyi, these were printed from the original plates by the Bureau of Engraving & Printing.
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