Real Life Morrow Money?

[Raellus]

So, this:

http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/the-f...401.1411513010

Seemed pretty MP to me so I thought I would post it here.

[ArmySGT.]

I question the utility of paper currency in a post apocalyptic recovery.

Regardless, they all thought then that FEMA was going to mobilize the country and set things right with all the Executive Orders at their disposal....

But, paper money? That is optimistic.

The Project believes in, and issues, gold or silver coins as trade currency.

[kato13]

I think paper money would have some value because post ooops it would be not be reproducible in any way.

You could use it as some form of backed currency like the Krakow ration chit from T2k.

Perhaps it could be used for some type of communication confirmation (like the wax seals of old). Perhaps if someone is sending a message they write it on a bill as they know they cannot be duplicated.

Another use I thought of was for admission to something (like a non counterfeit-able ticket)

Yeah this is not the be all or end all for all of life's problems, but given it is unique in the Morrow world it could have some use.

[stormlion1]

It makes good TP for trade too!

[RandyT0001]

I envisioned that paper currency within the Jackson Republic had a numerical serial number that was readable by OCR and a barcode readable by a scanner. Whenever currency was deposited into a bank it was read by the OCR and scanner after the close of business. Before opening the next morning currency was again read by the readers as outgoing currency. The bills left in the till were re-read and deleted from the outgoing category. This allowed the Republic to combat counterfieting and maintain statistics on a locale's economic flow. If needed the amount of currency in circulation could be adjusted. Every decade the script is replaced to combat counterfieting and hoarding.

[mmartin798]

Originally Posted by RandyT0001

I envisioned that paper currency within the Jackson Republic had a numerical serial number that was readable by OCR and a barcode readable by a scanner. Whenever currency was deposited into a bank it was read by the OCR and scanner after the close of business. Before opening the next morning currency was again read by the readers as outgoing currency. The bills left in the till were re-read and deleted from the outgoing category. This allowed the Republic to combat counterfieting and maintain statistics on a locale's economic flow. If needed the amount of currency in circulation could be adjusted. Every decade the script is replaced to combat counterfieting and hoarding.

This is an interesting idea, but one that would require a lot of equipment or a fairly high tech level to pull off. From the JR sourcebook I am making the assumption that they are not capable of manufacturing microprocessors. The scanning technology would be photomultiplier tubes or possibly CCD. Electromechanical OCR systems did exist in the late 19th century, around 1885 if my memory is correct. Barcode systems came much later, around 1940, using photomultiplier tubes. In both cases, they generated a waveform that could be analyzed in some manner. It should be easy to make a system that converted to voltage and be written to punch cards. The punch cards could then be compared to the master set of cards from the mint to verify the authenticity of the currency. The required integrators, card readers, card punches/sorters and printer should fit into a large sized room along with the scanner and reader. Whether it could thwart counterfeiting is another matter. We have to assume that the barcode is a seeded hash of the serial number, with the seed changing with every reissue of the currency, otherwise we don't gain much. The OCR and scanner will not be that fast, maybe 100 bills per minute on the top end for bills in good condition. But it may be fast enough. If the seed were to leak out, counterfeit bills could be printed at will. And yes, the technology to print, and therefore counterfeit, paper money is centuries old. With the correct engraved plates and paper, the original Gutenberg press could print the older style green backs from the 60's and 70's. A 70 year old offset press could do the split well inks of more modern currency.