Metallic Strip Change

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Has anybody else noticed that the metallic strip is now offset every note?  I suspect this is to spread out the area in contact with the cutting blades.  Looking at the edge of a bundle of AOL, the strip forms a zig-zag pattern, as below:


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I noticed this in the first bundle of Journey $100s that I saw way back when they first came out.

I also noticed this fact long ago and I think it's a normal variation of the thread deliberately made during the making of the paper.  The reason:  you are probably right.  The thickness of the thread is spread around a narrow zone instead being stacked exactly one sheet over the next, thus avoiding making a high bulge once you've stacked 500 or 1000 sheets.  The cutting is easier to do properly.

I just noticed that myself!  I got a bundle of 40 consecutive AOKs and noticed the zig zag pattern and that every other note differientiates as to whether the first stripe showing on the back is at the top or one down from there.

Although these are technically uncirculated, one could hardly believe that when it's so obvious that the bills are rippled in at least 3 places.

Does this spell an end to the perfectly flat crisp notes we're accustomed to collecting?

I think you're right Rag Picker.  Those days may be gone.

Typically, there's a dip for the holo-strip, often a line for the watermark portrait, and a bit of a  bulge for the large  intaglio counter (number) on the lower right of the face (and of course, the strong possibility of a  'cutting cup' indent).