KBA-Giori S.A. (a brief history)Gualtiero Giori was a direct descendant from a long line of Italian security printers established in Milan in the 19th century. He pioneered multi-colour intaglio printing by developing the revolutionary 6-colour intaglio printing press in 1947. Following this success and recognising the global need for the highest quality machines to produce the most secure banknotes he formed "Organisation Giori " in 1952. Koenig & Bauer was founded in 1817 and enjoys a rich and colourful history as the oldest manufacturer of printing machines in the world. Based in Würzburg, Germany the company has evolved to become a world leader in print technology and innovation. In 1952, Organisation Giori signed a co-operation agreement with Koenig & Bauer entrusting them with the production of the security printing machines. Following many years of successful partnership with the De La Rue Group, Organisation Giori was acquired by Koenig & Bauer in June 2001. - KBA-Giori S.A. has operated from its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland for over 50 years (from www.kba-giori.com) |
Jules Verne BanknoteA complex specimen banknote inspired by the works of the legendary French author, Jules Verne (1828 - 1905), was created especially for Banknote Horizons (a trade fair) by Renato Manfredi, one of the world’s leading banknote designers. It incorporates over 90 security features, including some unusual ones like latent imaging on the back of the note. Since 1983, Renato Manfredi has worked as a banknote designer for KBA-Giori. |
Variations of the KBA-Giori Speciman Banknote•There 2 major instances of the banknote. One is dated 2004 and the other is dated 2005. Each of these has some minor variations. Since Banknote Horizons took place in 2004, I can understand notes dates 2004, but I do not have any idea why there are notes dated 2005. •There are also instances of the note that appear to be part of test runs, where only part of the note was imprinted, and these have an `Egyptian’ overprint or the Gear is prominent. •I do not have any idea of the number of examples of any of these notes. Given that this note was used to demonstrate a running production line, I expect that there are thousands or tens of thousands of these notes floating around. (OR MORE!!!)
•They are occaissionally available on eBay for prices ranging from $10 to a few hundred dollars.
•There are even examples of uncut sheets of these notes. |
Different Versions of the Jules Verne test banknote:2004 - No Serial Numbers See examples below.
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2004 No Serial Number
On the reverse, there is a Foil imprint of a Powered Balloon Airship (Cigar Shaped) |
2004 2 Serial Numbers
On the reverse, there is a Foil imprint of a Powered Balloon Airship (Cigar Shaped) |
2004 Egyptian OverprintFront has Egyptian overprint and circle with Verne signature
Reverse has no image but some Egyptian (?) characters This is a note described as the Egyptian Overprint. |
2004 Gears (Partial Note)(Image from www.testnotes.de... THEY have watermarked the image!)
This is another note that is only partially complete. |
2005 1 Serial NumberMajor differences from the 2004 note include:
- Round foil Balloon instead of cigar shaped (reverse) |
2005 2 Serial numbers(Image from www.testnotes.de... THEY have watermarked the image!) These notes have the same differences from 2004 as noted above in 2005 - 1 serial number note.
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What are the different Jules Verne elements of the Banknotes?Some say the Bank note is not particularly attractive because it is crammed so full of sescurity features. But I like the look of it, and have enjoyed studying it to find its secrets. All images below were created by me for a presentation to the North American Jules Verne Society, Inc These images are copyright 2009, 2010 by Andrew Nash Front - Jules Verne
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