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Manukyan K, Yeghishyan A, Aprahamian A, Jordan L, Kurkowski M, Raddell M, Richter Le L, Schultz ZD, Spillane L, Wiescher M. Multiscale analysis of Benjamin Franklin's innovations in American paper money. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2301856120. [PMID: 37459518 PMCID: PMC10374172 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2301856120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Benjamin Franklin was a preeminent proponent of the new colonial and Continental paper monetary system in 18th-century America. He established a network of printers, designing and printing money notes at the same time. Franklin recognized the necessity of paper money in breaking American dependence on the British trading system, and he helped print Continental money to finance the American War of Independence. We use a unique combination of nondistractive, microdestructive, and advanced atomic-level imaging methods, including Raman, Infrared, electron energy loss spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, to analyze pre-Federal American paper money from the Rare Books and Special Collections of the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame. We investigate and compare the chemical compositions of the paper fibers, the inks, and fillers made of special crystals in the bills printed by Franklin's printing network, other colonial printers, and counterfeit money. Our results reveal previously unknown ways that Franklin developed to safeguard printed money notes against counterfeiting. Franklin used natural graphite pigments to print money and developed durable "money paper" with colored fibers and translucent muscovite fillers, along with his own unique designs of "nature-printed" patterns and paper watermarks. These features and inventions made pre-Federal American paper currency an archetype for developing paper money for centuries to come. Our multiscale analysis also provides essential information for the preservation of historical paper money.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khachatur Manukyan
- Nuclear Science Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Armenuhi Yeghishyan
- Nuclear Science Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Ani Aprahamian
- Nuclear Science Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Louis Jordan
- Rare Books and Special Collections, Hesburgh Libraries, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Michael Kurkowski
- Nuclear Science Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Mark Raddell
- Nuclear Science Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Laura Richter Le
- Nuclear Science Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | - Zachary D. Schultz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
| | | | - Michael Wiescher
- Nuclear Science Laboratory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN46556
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Ben Franklin: founding father of anti-counterfeiting techniques. Nature 2023:10.1038/d41586-023-02260-x. [PMID: 37474772 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-02260-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
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