The steel plate, next to the title-page, contains a standard specimen of all the different styles of genuine engraving on all bank notes of all banks in the United States. But those particular patterns or dies do not belong to any regular Bank-note Engraving Co. in the U.S. They, with others, were sold at auction some years since, and duplicate dies have been made from them and scattered over the country, New York, Boston and Philadelphia, and some of them have got into counterfeiters’ hands, who use them in their spurious issues. Therefore no pattern like any one of these will ever be seen in a genuine note; but one or more of the duplicates of them will often be seen in a counterfeit. The plate therefore serves two purposes—1st, illustrating genuine and perfect work; 2d, to guard against genuine auction dies used in counterfeits.

Another auction vignette die, often seen in counterfeits, but never in a genuine bill, is a woman sitting by a sheaf of wheat, canal lock on the right and locomotive and bridge on the left.