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Artistic Checks - What Checks Are Really Saying |
By:
William A. Gordon |
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Artistic Checks - What Checks Are Really Saying
William A. Gordon
Paper documents have been used to keep record of financial transactions and promissory notes for hundreds of years. However, besides the obvious transfer of money between people and accounts, there is a whole archaeological and artistic value to checks that is easily overlooked, but is almost more valuable than the financial records. This article presents a look at artistic checks and their value beyond simple record keeping.
Artistic Checks Throughout History
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.
As an example, take the very artistic check that was used by the United States treasury to purchase Alaska from Russia in 1868. The check was decorated with two artist produced lithographs and it featured the highest quality calligraphy to present the terms of the sale. Even the fine hand writing used to endorse the check speaks of a time when people spent many hours practicing fine penmanship as a necessary life skill.
Artistic Checks Have More Value
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 as Fraud Protection
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. A watermark or other semi-transparent marks which only become visible if the check is held up to the light. They are specially created by an artist so they will not be reproduced easily 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 creative check printing technique that prints words in what look to the naked eye as simple lines making up an image on the check. Then when these lines are viewed with a magnifying tool, you can 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.
This article is a brief history of the decoration, both practical and purely esthetic, which is found on bank checks and money in general. Hopefully it will allow you to appreciate the history of and see new possibilities the next time you're writing or receiving a personal check.
Having studied many aspects of art and bank check history, Will A. Gordon writes about http://www.personalcheckspro.com/artistic-checks/) artistic checks and many other types of http://www.personalcheckspro.com/artistic-checks/artistic-personal-checks/) artistic personal checks for several banking industry related websites.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article69376.html |
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