One of the most fascinating items in all of American numismatics is on display at the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo today.

A former Bureau of Engraving and Printing Intaglio Currency Test Plate, used to make test notes, is part of an exhibit area near the Information Booth.

Used by the BEP in the early1980s when it was considering adopting continuous-feed “web” presses, the Test Plate represents an important part of the agency’s history. Weighing more than 100 pounds, the Test Plate was never used in the actual production of paper money.

When the BEP abandoned the idea of using a web press for printing paper money, it sold both the press and the plate to a company in the security printing business.

It is not unusual for intaglio web rollers to be used in the security printing business.

The Test Plate is not just the only one of its kind, but experts say it is not likely the BEP will ever sell anything like it again, since intaglio plates are the “holy grail” of security printing.

The privately owned plate is the only plate to lawfully leave the BEP in modern times.