NEW BANK NOTES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21247, 20 August 1934, Page 18

NEW BANK NOTES

NOVEL CLEANLINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE SUGGESTED Although in the two weeks that th* Reserve Bank notes have been in circulation the novelty of handling note# of a new design has worn oft, it is still a decided novelty to have clean and crackling paper money, states the "New Zealand Herald." For a long time the public has been used to limp and dirty notes, some of which were in such a state of deterioration as to b« anything but a credit to any commuiiity. The life of a banknote cannot' be foretold with any great degree of exactitude, as the nazards of circulation are many, but New Zealanders have learned by experience that nothing can cling to life so tenaciously as a banknote, not even a cat with its- pro* verbial nine lives. The hope is general that the Reserve Bank will not iitt" pose such a strain upon the constitution of its notes as did the trading banks, but that it will retire them early and keep the issue as fresh una clean as possible. A study of the existing paper currency of the United States was undertaken by the Bureau of Efficiency to • 1925 at the request of the Treasury Department. Estimates placed the !«• of the most popular note in circulation, the dollar bill, at eight months, while the cause of damage by wear was attributed chiefly to folding. . It is inevitable that banknotes Wj folded for convenience of carrying in the pocket or purse, and they must pe expected to undergo fairly rigorous treatment in other respects, but tney should not be kept in. circulation merely because of physical stamina after they are obviously no longer ill for circulation. This would appear to have been recognised in Britain, w quote only one instance, where tne familiar ' "Bradburys" maintained their spic and span appearance aunosi undimmed. _ ! An examination of an old New £«»" land note, carried out in Aucluana, showed the potentialittes of a souM banknote for carrying germs of aw* ease. While no dangerous disease Bacteria were found on the one note examined, germs associated with tne human mouth were present, indicating the application of a moistened linger in counting. , ... In the interests of health, therefore, as well as in a desire to save the pun* lie from the real unpleasantness 01 handling dirty notes, the Reserv Bank has an opportunity of £ cCt ®" plishing a desirable reform. Bv renewing its notes as soon as they come undulv soiled, with oart'Civ r attention to those of the lower destinations which circulate more """"■•'•.J; can do something to maVe ev°n • paying of taxes a more pleasant operation.