So I see this artificat running along the Queen's left cheek on the polymer $20 note. The artificat is very visible with a naked eye. It manifests itself like a very sharp ridge approximately 10mm long.
Photo showing close-up of ridge:
{http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6337/cheekmarka.jpg:http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6337/cheekmarka.th.jpg}
Initially I dismissed it as a crease. However a crease typically results in a loss of ink and not an aggregation of ink as appears to have happened. A crease especially as sharp as this leaves a whitish marking around it (I believe GPM 25th edition refers to it as being due to a white primer).
So I looked at the back of it and there appears to be a bit of a valley corresponding to the ridge. However the printing around the valley is very pristine so much so the scan does not even pick it up (see image below)
Back side of the note showing area corresponding to the ridge.
{http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/1307/cheekmarkbacka.jpg:http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/1307/cheekmarkbacka.th.jpg}
The note itself has a few small handling flicks otherwise there are no full folds or creases (i.e. running the full width or length of the note). Except for this ridge the note would be conservatively an EF possibly an AU.
I am thinking it might be that there might be a small ridge in the paper caused either at some point during printing or before the printing. Anyone else have any opinion? Seen something like this in polymers or in paper?
The image of the front of the full note is below
{http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7089/cheekmarkfulla.jpg:http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7089/cheekmarkfulla.th.jpg}
