Just a simple question here. What exactly is meant by pressed?
The description
"pressed" has always implied to me that the note has been
WASHED in water and then pressed (either between two sheets of porous paper or, worse still, ironed with a hot iron).
There are several different types of pressing:
(1) Merely putting the note in a book and loading 10 or so heavy books on top for a few days. I don't see any problem here as long as the note hasn't been previously washed.
(2) Ironing the note with a hot iron (without washing) between two sheets of white paper. This is very destructive as the paper tends to curl/ripple due to expansion/contraction effects and the ink tends to melt and lift off, often leaving a shiny appearance. Worse still is ironing the note by direct contact with the hot metal surface! A HIGHLY UNDESIRABLE PRACTICE!
(3) Washing in water followed by pressing in a book. A HIGHLY UNDESIRABLE PRACTICE!
(4) Washing in water followed by ironing between two sheets of white paper. A HIGHLY UNDESIRABLE PRACTICE!
I must admit that I did my fair share of well-intentioned washing, pressing and ironing when I was new to the hobby (in the early 1970's) but I soon realized that I had ruined some good notes. However, I gained a lot of valuable experience in the sense that I can now recognize very quickly whether a note has been washed and/or pressed or ironed! We live and learn ....
« Last Edit: May 08, 2007, 05:17:52 am by Ottawa »
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" Buy the very best notes that you can afford and keep them for at least 10 years. " (Richard D. Lockwood, private communication, 1978).