Bank of England £20 (Sir Edward Elgar)

[nutmegcollector]

 

The star seems to be embedded in the design. The regular £20 (Sir Edward Elgar) note doesn't have a star. So is this note special? Has anybody seen one like this?

[ccg]

Weird. Kind of looks like it was drawn or printed on.

[YeOldeCollector]

Weird. Kind of looks like it was drawn or printed on.

 

I agree, looks like a pen was the culprit.

[nutmegcollector]

 

The owner of the note insisted the star was part of the design, not drew in or stamped on later.

 

Here are some high res images to show that the star does appear underneath the diagonal lines which form part of the notes design, clearly establishing that the star was put on the note before the design.

[ccg]

Two issues:

 

1. If it was part of the design, it should be solid and not splotchy.

 

2. Most banknotes have their designs printed on with raised ink / printing. That is, the ink used for the design sits on top of the paper, like how oil paints sit on top of the canvas they're painted on. If someone then tried to apply regular watercolors (or say india ink) to the note, the ink/paint would likely soak into the paper, creating an appearence that it is under the existing raised ink.

[MMMM]

It is also not listed as one of the general or even security features http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/s...security_20.htm

 

Looking at it superposition, it does not look like it is part of the design more like one of my kids stamp pens, they have one that makes a star like that. Maybe is also from a detector pen? It is odd.