Manufacturers – State and private printing works

Paper money does not have any material value, as is the case with coins. It is a piece of paper which promises the redemption of a value. In order for it to be accepted by the population as a means of payment, it must be of a high printing quality. This makes counterfeiting more difficult and easier to detect.

In the 19th century, printing techniques were used that ensured the high quality of paper money and thus contributed to the spread of the banknote. Banknote printing is still a combination of several printing processes and the addition of security elements to this day. Even the earliest banknotes therefore had a watermark, a pattern, image or text embedded in the paper. Later on, a special area, a wide margin was left blank on the banknotes to make the watermark easier to recognise. Guilloches are another important security feature. These are repeatedly intertwined symmetrical figures made of the finest lines. They can only be made with a special guilloche machine and are therefore difficult to forge.

Printing techniques were constantly developed during the 19th century. While the early banknotes were printed on one side and in one colour only, from 1850 onwards the banknotes were often printed on two sides and in colour. Banknote printing is a specialised field which just a few printing works work in. These are predominantly private companies, some of which still exist today. However, there are also state-owned printing works that produce paper money especially for a central bank.