Operator photos on Flickr

Oh dear Lord, I actually acquired one! American Bank Note engravers master plate - #81538 - for the 50 cent Toll Scrip note for the New York City Tunnel Authority - the original operator of Queens Midtown Tunnel, as constructed and opened in 1940; and of which was acquired by the Triborough Bridge Authority in 1946, and requiring their name to be changed to the Triborough Bridge *and Tunnel* Authority.

There are four other plates (denominations) known to exist: 25 cent, 40 cent, 60 cent and 75 cent.

The original owner / gallery was asking $10,000 for the set for many years. I contacted them in 2019 with an offer of $2,500 ($500 per plate), but I never heard back.

About a two years after that, I found out the set was broken up and listed on eBay several months prior, and where I found that a few plates fetched way less than that of my offer.

I never saw the auctions so I couldn't even be competitive in bidding. I was to say the least, very disappointed.

Lapse forward to a few months ago, when the owner of the 50 cent plate emailed me (after finding my website on toll scrip of New York & New Jersey:

members.trainweb.com/bedt/toll/nytollscripandtokenspage3....

if I had ever seen a corresponding issued scrip for the plate, which I had not. Only one circulated 25 cent note is known to exist. He is a primarily a collector of engraving plates and banknotes of his country, but also collects other unique printing plates items which is how he ended up acquiring this. I said if he ever considered parting with the plate, give me a holler.

Last week, he did. Since he did not want to ship the plate from his country of residence, he carried the plate with him on a commercial flight to visit family in Florida, and then mailed it to me via UPS upon arrival. Four days later it has now been delivered into my hot little hands!

After ogling it for 30 minutes, and taking a cell phone shot of it; I went to work with some paper towel and rubbing alcohol, and it cleaned up nicely. I think it was coated with beeswax for storage by American Bank Note Company, and it has not been cleaned since, as photos from the auction show the same dirt, and some paper stuck to it. Some very minor pitting from age, but she really cleaned up nicely - almost to a mirror shine.

It will be sent shortly to George Cuhaj, who has at his disposal a intaglio press, where we will make proofs for me (and himself), and then I will recoat it with a preventative. I think I will have it mounted and framed with one of the printed proofs.

Here's the rub: no surviving notes are known so we do not know what color ink it was printed with! The 25 cent was printed dark purple. Was each denomination a different color, or the same - we won't know until a printed example or a printers proof surfaces.

Siderography:

To give a quick understanding of this plate: the toll scrip were not printed from this. This is the master. And engraver did his work on a piece of soft steel. When finished and approved, it went into an oven, and quenched hardening the plate.

Then a cylindrical piece of steel (soft) was rolled across the top of the master under very high pressure, making for a positive, this is called a transfer roll.

Then that "transfer roll" cylinder was hardened.

Then the hardened positive cylinder is rolled back and forth dozens of times under high pressure on a flat plate of soft steel. . This makes for a multiple impression negative printing plate.

This was then installed in a printing press, and then sheets of paper were printed from that, cut and used for currency, note, stock or what have you. Here is a great video of the process, which is called Siderography:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slwn2nDZNtE

In high quantity production, the negative printing plates would be sacrificial; and in the case of say US Banknotes, many dozens or hundreds of plates would be made from the transfer roll.

When the transfer roll was worn out, a new one would be made from the master.

If and when the master plate wore out, a new one needed to be engraved. Slight differences in the master plate allowed for differences in production.

On something like this toll scrip, one master and one transfer roll were in all likelihood, the only ones. with the plates destroyed after use, and the master and the transfer rolls going into company archives.

In the case of American Bank Note Co, they made postage stamps, banknotes, coupons, scrip, stock and bond certificates, even cigar bands; and other engraved printed items.

When they liquidated their archives in 2006, someone was smart enough to offer up for auction through Stacks Bowers; which is how this plate and others survived.

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The Co-operators Group Limited by Imagine Canada

In September 2009, 180 students from 50 Canadian universities and 10 colleges were selected to attend Impact! The Co-operators Youth Conference for Sustainability Leadership. During the three-day conference students were inspired by David Suzuki, collaborated with academics and sector leaders; learned from various experts and developed sustainability solutions to impact our homes, workplaces and communities.

The Co-operators Group Limited is a participant in Imagine Canada's Caring Company program.

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