Artistic Checks – A Visual History Of Money
Financial transactions have been tracked on paper documents like checks and various types of notes for hundreds of years. Our obsession with money makes it easy to miss the historical, archeological and artistic value that checks can provide. This article will present a brief look at the world of artistic checks as more than just a simple bank balance transfer record.
The History of Artistic Checks
Money has been decorated with art since currencies first came into wide use. Cultures around the globe have commissioned artwork to emblazon their coins, treasury notes and bank checks with symbols of beauty and meaning.
An excellent example would be the famous check used by the United States to pay Russia for the purchase of the state of Alaska in 1869. Featuring two stunning hand cut lithographs this artistic check is now a valuable piece of history in it’s own right. It’s doubtful whether any of our modern electronic fund transfers will be as useful in providing such a beautiful glimpse of history.
Increased Perceived Value with Art on Checks
Why bother create checks with art on them? There is actually a very practical reason: artistic checks are instilled with a higher sense of value. Can you imagine a large banking transaction being transcribed onto a piece of ordinary blank paper? There would be a lack of trust due to the lack of perceived value. Artistic checks, and money in general, create a sense of value.
Decorating money and checks with art is actually quite necessary. With the exception of gold and silver coins, money doesn’t have any real value. Artwork, symbols and decoration are used to create a feeling of trust in the value of the individual or institution that is backing the check or note.
Artistic Checks offer Higher Security
In the current banking environment, checks have, of course, become the target of many types of fraud. This has lead to the skillful creation of artistic checks that are a combination of beauty, style and security features.
1. Watermarks are transparent markings that are only visible when the check is held up to the light. They are specially created by an artist so they will not reproduce if the check is copied.
2. Holograms are a more recent security innovation attached to checks on metallic foil. They contain an artistic 3-D picture which is visible only at a certain angle of viewing.
3. Micro printing is a special check inking technique that embeds words as simple lines that make up the images on an artistic check. Only when these lines are viewed with a magnifying glass, can someone read the words.
Modern Artistic Checks
The Internet has given rise to an explosion in artistic checks. These days the security features remain, but it is not uncommon for check printing companies to offer thousands of images, patterns, designs, and scenic elements for consumers to use to decorate their personal checks.
I hope this article has provided a new view into the rich history and the value of the artistic checks beyond the simple exchange of funds between two people’s bank accounts. They provide a look at the society of their time and even into the personal style and interests of the issuer.