ADDITIONAL INFO ON BANKNOTES

Volume of banknotes for printing

- The Monetary Board approves the required quantities of banknotes to be produced annually
- requirements are based on cash operations data, economic indicators, projected needs of the
regional cash units of the BSP
Circulating life of a banknote
- ranges from one to five years
- lower denominations circulate faster, and have a shorter lifespan than the higher
denominations
Security features of a banknote
- security thread
- security fibers
- watermarks
- invisible fluorescent inks
- optically variable ink
- microprint and moire pattern
- iridescent band
How its made
- starts with the conceptualization of design
- a master die is prepared from which printing plates are produced
- production, then, takes place:

1. Litho Printing
- impressions are printed on a rubber
blanket cylinderr which are
transferred to the sheets of banknote
paper

3. Sheet Inspection
- inspected for printing faults

2. Intaglio Printing
- engraved features of the banknote
are printed at the intaglio machines,
which produce the tactile or
embossed effect on the banknotes

5. Tenning
- numbered sheets undergo
inspection of every tenth sheet for
other printing defects which were not
detected earlier

4. Numbering
- the good sheets go to the
numbering machines for the printing
of serial numbers

6. Finishing
- involves cutting into notes, counting,
packaging

CHEMICAL COMPONENTS OF PHILIPPINE BANKNOTES

Consists of: 80% cotton fiber & 20% abaca fiber
Cotton Fiber
- Soft silky fibers from cotton plants in their raw state
- Consists of:
80-90% Cellulose
6-8% Water
4-6% Hemicellulose and Pectin's
-1.8% Ash
0.5-1% Waxes and Fats
0-1.5% Proteins
Abaca Fiber
- strong fiber obtained from the leafstalk of a banana (Musa textilis) native to the Philippines
- also known as Manila Hemp
- considered as the strongest fiber
- Consists of:
76.6% Cellulose
14.6% Hemicellulose
8.4% Lignin
0.3% Pectin
0.1% Wax and Fat
Cellulose
- complex carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, that is composed of glucose units, forms the main
constituent of the cell wall in most plants
Hemicellulose
- Any of a group of complex carbohydrates that, with other carbohydrates (e.g., pectins),
surround the cellulose fibres of plant cells
Pectin
- Any of a group of carbohydrate substances found in the cell walls of plants and in the tissue
between certain plant cells
- produced by the ripening of fruit and helps the ripe fruit remain firm

Lignin
- a constituent of the cell walls of almost all dry land plant cell walls
- the second most abundant natural polymer in the world, surpassed only by cellulose
- Of the polymers found in plant cell walls, lignin is the only one that is not composed of
carbohydrate (sugar) monomers

COMPARISON OF OLD AND NEW FEATURES OF PHILIPPINE BANKNOTES

Whats the difference?
- December 15, 2010 - release of the New
generation Philippine Bank Notes to
improve security features, improve durability
- also guides those who have impaired
vision through the embossed numerical
amount on each bill

- The new bills are made of 80% cotton and

20% abaca and provides an anti-bacterial
feature
- The word Pilipino is integrated in
Baybayin and can be seen when viewed
against the light
- a concealed denominational value can be
seen super-embossed on the smaller
version of the portrait

CHEMISTRY OF PAPER MONEY

Currency Paper
- produced usually by a Government-Private Company
- 75% cotton and 25% linen
- security thread and watermark are already present
Cotton Fiber
- the seed hairs of the plant gossypium
- Twisted or straight tubes are flattened with large canals
Linen Fiber
- derived from flax
- Transparent tubes with marked lines and a small central canal
Chemical Composition of Paper
- Cellulose
- Hemicellulose
Other components:
- watermark
- red and blue distinctive fibers
- embedded thread
- fluorescent thread

- inks: composed of inorganic pigment, varnish, alkyds, driers

- optically variable ink
- OVI and metallic ink
Printing process:
1. Offset printing (face and back)
- inked image is transferred (offset) from a plate to a rubber blanket then to the printing surface
- most precise of all the printing processes
2. Intaglio (back)
3. Intaglio (face)
4. Letterpress

EFFECT OF COMPONENT OF BILLS ON SKIN/BODY/HEALTH

Bisphenol A (BPA)
- chemical found in hard plastics and coatings of food and drinks cans (epoxy resins)
- also used in making thermal paper (receipts)
Endocrine disruptor a substance which interferes with the production, secretion, transport,
action, function, and elimination of natural hormones
- Can imitate our body's own hormones in a way that could be hazardous for health
- Study published in Environmental Science & Technology analyzed 156 bills from 21 countries
and found that all contained traces of BPA
- Receipt + Banknotes = BPA-fest
- BPA levels on older bank notes were higher than on newer ones; the longer circulation periods
allowing more time for transfer and accumulation
Health Effects
- Reproductive disorders - affect egg maturation in humans
- Male impotence - raise the risk of erectile dysfunction; sexual desire and problems with
ejaculation
- Heart disease in adults - linked to diabetes and heart disease in adults
- Chemotherapy - may reduce chemotherapy treatment efficacy
- Brain function, memory, learning - loss of connections between brain cells in primates;
potential problems with memory and learning, as well as depression
- Breast cancer - increase in breast cancer risk among females exposed to BPA and DES in the
womb
- Only a minor exposure pathway for the general public; more serious for people who are
occupationally exposed to currency, such as bank tellers and shop assistants
- avoid cash in Brazil, the Czech Republic and Australia; head over to Canada
References:
http://inhabitat.com/study-reveals-that-world-cash-supplies-are-contaminated-with-bpa/
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/221205.php
http://www.separationsnow.com/details/ezine/sepspec25967ezine/Dirty-money-All-bank-notes-are-tainted-with-bisphenol-A.html?tzcheck=1
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/12/17/10/philippine-peso-bills-take-new-generation-look

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cotton+fiber
http://www.engr.utk.edu/mse/pages/Textiles/Cotton%20fibers.htm
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abaca
http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2013/04/abaca-fiber-manila-hemp-usesapplication.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
https://myorganicchemistry.wikispaces.com/Cellulose
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cellulose
http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/260780/hemicellulose
http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/pectin.html
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Pectins
http://www.lignoworks.ca/content/what-lignin
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lignin_structure.svg
http://bsp.gov.ph