Miscellancous Security Features
Embossing or Die Stamping
Embossment of the paper with a design, crest or a symbol is a very old method of protecting
document. Along with watermarks it has been around for 100's of years, it appeared on some
of the first notes produced. While not widely used today, it can be seen on some modern
notes. Embossing of a note can also help the visually impaired identify a note.
Examples




Strips of Paper
Giesecke & Devrient of Germany came up with a method of imbedding strips of paper with
printing on it during manufacture of the banknote paper. This can be seen in notes that
they produced for Croatia in the 1940's.
Transparent Ink
Transparent ink (also know as Pearl Luster or Pearl Essence) is an ink that is visible only
when the note is held at an angle. This can be seen real well on the Lebanon, 5000 Livres,
1994, pick #71.
Bar Codes
Bar coding has been added to notes to help in identification and tracking of notes. It can
be used to help in sorting and counting of notes according to denomination of the actual
tracking of serial numbers. Bar codes can be invisible or visible and can be seen on the
on some of the following notes.
Updated 3/20/2000