DIRTY BANK NOTES.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 39, 22 May 1917, Page 8

DIRTY BANK NOTES.

200,000 BURNT EVERY WEEK,

Over 200,000 separate bank notes are burned every week by the Commonwealth Treasury officials. This statement has been made by Mr Collins, secretary to the Australian Treasury, when referring to a statement regarding the numbers of dirty notes in circulation. The notes having been cancelled are burned in a special furnace, fitted with a wire grid. This prevents pieces of charred notes fluttering through the chimney and being subsequently produced for payment —as happoned sonic years ago when the postal officials in Melbourne were burning certain sheets of stamps. Mr Collins stated that more would bo done in the direction of burning old notes, but that during this time of war difficulty was experienced in getting sufficient paper supplies. When the war was over and the normal supplies of paper were available he had reason to believe that the Treasurer would agree to supply the bank with notes so that they as well ns the Treasury would not re-issue notes. At the present time they had in stock sufficient paper to last for twelve months. They had given orders for another twelve months’, supply, but the paper was slow in coming forward. The question of washing the notes had been considered by the Treasury, but the authorities had come to the conclusion that the procedure was not desirable, on the ground that to wash and reissue would bo more expensive than to print new notes. Washing also took some of the ink out, and might make it difficult to detect forgeries.