includes a list of references but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . october 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message abn company industry printing founded 1795 as murray draper fairman & company headquarters fort lee new jersey key people keith goldstein ceo us operations bud kronenberg ceo canadian operations parent abnote north america website official website the american bank note co. ottawa ontario canada 1897 11 printing plant in the south bronx the american bank note company was a major worldwide engraver of national currency and postage stamps . currently it engraves and prints stock and bond certificates . it is based in fort lee new jersey . contents 1 origins 2 after 1857 3 twentieth century 4 abnote group 5 building 6 gallery 7 see also 8 references and sources 9 external links origins edit robert scot the first official engraver of the young u.s. mint began the company that would eventually grow into the nation s premier high security engraving and printing firm the american bank note company . founded in 1795 as murray draper fairman & company after scot s three partners the company prospered as the young united states population expanded and financial institutions blossomed . its products included superior quality stock and bond certificates paper currency for the nation s thousands of state chartered banks postage stamps from 1879 to 1894 1 and a wide variety of other engraved and printed items . after 1857 edit following the panic of 1857 seven of the nation s most prominent security printers merged to form the american bank note company on april 29 1858 . the new company made new york city its headquarters . less than two years later a handful of the remaining independent bank note printers merged to form the national bank note company . to be close to the stock exchanges brokerage firms and banks in lower manhattan the american bank note company established its new york city headquarters in the merchants exchange building at 55 wall street . the company moved its office and plant to 142 broadway at the corner of liberty street in 1867 to another new facility at 78 86 trinity place in 1882 and again to 70 broad street in 1908 . the first paper currency was circulated by the us treasury department following the outbreak of the civil war . congress passed authorizing legislation for 60 million worth of these demand notes on july 17 and august 5 1861 . under contract with the government the novel paper money called greenbacks by the public was produced by the american bank note co. and the national bank note co. a total of 7.25 million notes were produced in denominations of 5 10 and 20 . in an interesting historical sidelight american and national were also producing paper money for the confederacy at the same time . 100 pesos banco italiano del uruguay 1887 american bank note company share certificate 1944 following the initial production of u.s. currency by the government s bureau of engraving and printing in 1862 abnco sought a new source of demand for its services . they found it in foreign lands . the company would eventually go on to supply security paper and bank notes to 115 foreign countries . 2 in 1877 pursuant to a law enacted by congress the u. s. bureau of engraving and printing became the sole producer of all united states currency . the security printing industry finding a good deal of its work had evaporated accordingly underwent a second major consolidation in 1879 as american absorbed the national bank note and continental bank note companies . at the time of the merger continental held the contract to produce u. s. postage stamps and this production continued under the american aegis . in 1887 abnco won the second four year contract to engrave and print postal notes for the u.s. post office . new york s homer lee bank note company produced these notes during the first contract period . american assigned thomas f. morris its chief designer the task of re designing this early money order . the paper for this contract as for all postal notes and a massive number of official u.s. high security documents was produced by crane and co. of dalton massachusetts . in 1891 the american bank note company began producing a new form of money for a longtime customer the american express travelers cheque . in its first year american express sold 9 120 worth of its new invention . during 2000 sales of american express traveler s cheques totaled 24.6 billion . in 1894 abnco completed the final contract for the private printing of american stamps . perhaps their most popular stamps were the one cent to 5 issues commemorating the 1892 93 columbian exposition for which they had also printed the admission tickets in chicago . on july 1 1894 american delivered its entire stamp producing operation to the u.s. bureau of engraving and printing in washington d.c. where u.s. stamps were still printed up into the 1990s . twentieth century edit this section needs expansion . you can help by adding to it . october 2013 in 1943 44 american bank note company was contracted by the united states government s bureau of engraving and printing to produce the overrun countries series stamps . abnote group edit american bank note company is a subsidiary of american banknote corporation and abnote group http abnote.com today following a variety of financial transformations the american banknote corporation produces a wide variety of secure and official documents . with operations in australia new zealand united states canada south africa czech republic england and france its products range from currencies and credit cards to passports driver s licenses and birth certificates . building edit former headquarters at 70 broad st . manhattan the american bank note company building was built in 1908 . the company sold it in 1988 . it is listed on the u.s. national register of historic places and is designated a new york city landmark . gallery edit benjamin franklin issue of 1861 from the first series of us postage stamps produced by the national bank note co later called the american bank note co. 3 beer revenue stamp proof single 1871 canadian penny stamp 1898 1897 lady of the light bulbs revenue stamp of canada queen victoria nova scotia 8 cent stamp 1860 george v canada 1 cent stamp 1930 pedro lvares cabral steel engraving by american bank note company colombia 1916 specimen revenue stamp greek bank note of 1912 for the nbg bank u. s. stamp from the overrun countries series showing the pre 1905 flag of korea similar to the modern flag of south korea . dutch guilder printed for the dutch government in exile 1943 see also edit postage stamp postage stamps and postal history of the united states bureau of engraving and printing new york bank note company homer lee bank note company canadian bank note company canadian unit from 1897 to 1923 references and sources edit references two security printers absorbed into the abn in 1879 produced u. s. postage stamps between 1861 and that year the national bank note company 1861 73 and the continental banknote company 1873 79 hessler gene 1993 . the engraver s line an encyclopedia of paper money & postage stamp art . bnr press . p. 19 . isbn 0 931960 36 3 . scott specialized catalogue of united states stamps sources antecedents of the american bank note company of 1858 by foster wild rice the story of the american bank note company by william h. griffiths america s money america s story by richard doty the comprehensive catalog of u.s. paper money by gene hessler external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to american bank note company . official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title american bank note company & oldid 733265566 categories postal historypostage stamps of the united statesprinting companies of the united statesbanknote 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