Now, scientists are confirming some of the ways that Franklin and his associates thwarted counterfeiters to help early American paper currency succeed.
Though perhaps better known for its newspapers and almanacs, Benjamin Franklin’s printing business also churned out paper money to support the colonial economy. Now, scientists are confirming some of the ways that Franklin and his associates thwarted counterfeiters to help early American paper currency succeed, including by adding a reflective mineral to bills.
In past studies, Manukyan and his colleagues have analyzed ancient Roman coins, medieval manuscripts and other artifacts using nuclear imaging techniques. When the researchers realized that Notre Dame housed paper money bills dating to the early colonial days of North America, the team decided to take a closer look. They examined about 600 paper notes.
It’s wonderful that scientists are using these techniques to analyze these bills, says Jessica Linker, a historian at Northeastern University in Boston who studies early moneymaking. Still, she says, historians have known for some time from old recipes and other documents that muscovite — also known as mica — and blue threads were incorporated into old paper money to fight counterfeiting.
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