Artistic Checks - What Checks Are Really Saying

Filed Under Finance |

by William A. Gordon

Since the beginning of modern banking, financial transactions have been recorded on checks and notes and various other types of paper documents. Besides the obvious transfer of money between two parties, there is another easily overlooked, aspect to these important pieces of paper. They have an artistic and historical value that can be, at times, even more valuable than the financial record. In this article we’ll take a look at the value of artistic checks and see how it has changed over time.

The History of Artistic Checks

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.

An excellent example would be the famous check used by the United States to pay Russia for the purchase of the state of Alaska in 1869. Featuring two stunning hand cut lithographs this artistic check is now a valuable piece of history in it’s own right. It’s doubtful whether any of our modern electronic fund transfers will be as useful in providing such a beautiful glimpse of history.

Artistic Checks Add 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.

It has been a long time since governments and banks created money and checks that had any real value. Therefore, artwork and symbols are used to create a sense of trust in the value of the person or country backing the check or note.

Artistic Checks Deliver Increased Security

Our current artistic checks take the combination of decoration and security to new levels with all sorts of embedded features like watermarks, holograms and micro printing. All three of these methods have been developed to make checks much more difficult to counterfeit, thereby reducing fraud.

1. Watermarks are transparent markings that are only visible when the check is held up to the light. They are specially created by an artist so they will not reproduce 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

In the past few years artistic checks have undergone a transformation. Rather than the banks and institutions dictating the styles and decorations on the checks, now these decisions are being made by consumers. Modern check printing companies offer thousands of artistic check designs and an almost endless ability to customize check printing.

I hope this article has provided a new view into the rich history and the value of the artistic checks beyond the simple exchange of funds between two people’s bank accounts. They provide a look at the society of their time and even into the personal style and interests of the issuer.

About the Author:

Well versed in many aspects of art and bank check history, Will A. Gordon writes about artistic checks and many other types of printer checks for several banking industry related websites.