The Meaning of Money - Eye Magazine

This article titled The Meaning of Money by Eye Magazine looks at money in terms of its cultural and political relevance as well as looking at money as a symbol or token. Trying to answer questions on what makes a bank note look like a bank note and how does the global graphic language communicate its message?

The article speaks of 'printed money has become more than just a commonly agreed system of economic exchange; it is a heavily loaded, ubiquitous cultural artefact which depends for its continued existence on a massive and continuous act of faith on the part of its users.' This notion that money can be much more and do much more it has cultural significancy and represent the image of a country.

The point about cultural significance is spoke of again ' The banknote is imbued with weighty cultural significance, but this is no less than we expect from the money in our pockets. Currency, in the form of paper money, can operate as a badge of nationally and internationally recognised cultural and economic legitimacy. For this reason, images of heroic patriots framed by flounces and swags can be viewed alongside depictions of hard-won nationhood and valiant, allegorical figures. ' speaking also of the reason for heroic patriots being a frequent thing throughout the designs due to this feeling of national pride and a want to have a note that reflects the country best.

The opposite of this can then be seen '  however, a growing number of exceptions to this rule, most notably in the design of Dutch banknotes, which were revamped by R.D.E. Oxenaar and J.J. Kruit in 1982. The notes maintain a certain traditional cultural emphasis by featuring illustrations of Joost van den Vondel, a poet, Frans Hals, a painter, and among other elements, a lighthouse and a snipe. There is no riot of highly visible and obviously historicist heroic complexity. ' It shows how these designs that move away from the patriarchal and classical style can be much more amusive. 

The article overall gives an insight into the techniques and process in which it takes to create a bank note and talk to the method in the past and present and how these will for ever change with the ongoing struggles of bank note forgery.