Here's how one of the founding fathers of the US fought counterfeit notes.
The 600 notes analyzed also include notes printed at Franklin’s printing shops and a series of counterfeit notes. Money counterfeiting in pre-Federal America flourished, and Franklin took up this cause by inventing new production measures.
“Benjamin Franklin saw that the Colonies’ financial independence was necessary for their political independence. Most of the silver and gold coins brought to the British American colonies were rapidly drained away to pay for manufactured goods imported from abroad, leaving the Colonies without sufficient monetary supply to expand their economy,” Manukyan said.
Some of the study's key findings revealed that Franklin used “lamp black,” a pigment created by burning vegetable oils to print the notes, and that the printed currency had a special black dye made from graphite found in rock. Franklin even innovated a new paper to print notes on. The paper was made up of tiny fibers in paper pulp, which to date was credited to paper manufacturer Zenas Marshall Crane.
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