| Denomination: | Web note |
| Country: | United States |
| Value: | 1 |
| Unit: | $ |
| Years Of Printing: | 1988,1993,1995 |
| Nature Of Rarity: | Experimental press run |
| Estimated Value: | US$2 – $1,300 |
| Obverse: | 1993WebNote.jpg |
Web notes are a type of United States currency named after the "web printing production" method of printing on continuous rolls of paper. There are several types of web printing production methods, including offset, gravure (intaglio), flexography, etc. However high-pressure web intaglio printing, front, and back of the intaglio process was a new idea.
Between 1992 and 1996, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing experimented to see if a web press that used continuous rolls of paper was quicker and cheaper than intaglio printing, which uses flat sheets. The notes produced were dollar bills from Series 1988A, Series 1993 and Series 1995. As the press was in the Washington facility, no web notes were printed at the Fort Worth plant. They are legal tender and are not considered error notes, although they are somewhat scarce and more valuable than bills produced by the sheet-fed method.
The following is a list of web-printed notes and their serial number blocks:
1988A
1993
1995
In May 1991, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) installed a web press at the Washington, DC printing facilities to test a new way of printing $1 bills. BEP officials hoped that the test would replace the sheet-fed intaglio presses by switching to a possibly quicker and less expensive method of printing. The Alexander-Hamilton Web Currency Press was a true web currency press.
There are several differences between the two types of presses:
The continuous-roll printing process (Web offset) is visually very similar to the printing of newspapers, whereas intaglio visually resembles metal stamping manufacturing methods.
Problems arose with the web press. The main drawback was its inability to sustain long continuous runs compared to the standard (Giori) sheetfed method of intaglio printing, resulting in a constant breakdown. In addition, the quality of the prints was subpar compared to the established method. Due to these factors, the web press was discontinued in July 1996.
A currency note that was printed on a web press (referred to as a web note) can be identified by two distinct characteristics.
The following images illustrate the differences. The top note in each image is a web note; the bottom note is sheetfed.
The red box indicates the faceplate number on a web note, which is near the bottom right corner, while blue boxes indicate the faceplate number, in the bottom right corner, and a position indicator number, in the upper left corner, on a sheet-fed note. Also, on sheetfed notes, the plate numbers are preceded by a letter.
On the web note, the backplate number is just to the side of TRUST in the motto IN GOD WE TRUST (red box). On the sheetfed note, the backplate number is to the lower right corner of the central white space (blue box).
Web notes were made for three series of dollar bills.
| Series | Treasurer of the United States | Secretary of the Treasury |
|---|---|---|
| 1988A | Catalina Vasquez Villalpando | Nicholas F. Brady |
| 1993 | Mary Ellen Withrow | Lloyd Bentsen |
| 1995 | Mary Ellen Withrow | Robert Rubin |
Of the series, Series 1988A bills hold the two key issues (issues with the most collector value).
Notes of the New York FRB and the Atlanta FRB are the two keys. FRBNY used the B-L serial number block, while FRBA used a Star Note serial number block (F-*), with the specific serial numbers in place of the dash. While an accurate print run has never been disclosed by the BEP (as the figures were combined with the intaglio runs), estimates are 1,920,000 notes for the B-L serial number block for the FRBNY, and 640,000 for the F-* serial number block for FRBA.
FRBNY B-L notes can fetch from $300 for circulated examples, to $1,300 for uncirculated examples. FRBA F-* notes can fetch from $600 for circulated examples, to $1250 for uncirculated examples. 1988A notes from other districts, and later series, are considerably less valuable.
Portions of this article use material from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing website, which is in the public domain.