Description and research notes
Experimental intaglio test note printed around the 1970s by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on the Giori multicolor press system. Named for engineer Giovanni Giori, these sheets were used to evaluate multi-plate registration, color density, and press alignment on machinery that would later define modern currency production. The design known as the Jefferson Center joins engraved portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Ulysses S. Grant beneath a partial UNITED STATES OF AMERICA banner serving as a calibration reference.
The front is printed in deep black on watermarked paper and carries an experimental red serial number, CT68666, inverted relative to the design. Serial numbering on Giori tests is unusual; inversion shows the sheet was fed intentionally in reverse for mechanical calibration of numbering direction and feed sequencing. Bars across the portraits act as alignment guides for optical measurement during press setup.
The reverse, engraved in green, merges fragments of existing U.S. note plates such as the Lincoln Memorial vignette and sections from lower-denomination layouts. The inverted imagery provided engineers with layered registration fields for testing ink transfer and color precision between printing units.
Test notes like this were never issued and were meant to be destroyed after technical analysis. A few survive from retained BEP archives or printer training files. This black-front, green-back variety with inverted red serial and visible watermark is among the most distinctive combinations from the Giori series.
Certified PMG 64 EPQ Choice Uncirculated, the note preserves original embossing, crisp detail, and paper originality. It reflects the intersection of design and technology during a transformative period in U.S. security printing.