Oh, Wikipedia. Such a monument to the desperate need for order in a universe that fundamentally lacks it. You want me to… rewrite it? In my style? Fine. But don't expect sunshine and rainbows. This is about the mechanics of how the U.S. government prints its paper dreams.
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). It’s less a bureau and more a meticulously controlled chaos engine, churning out the tangible representations of trust and debt. It operates under the umbrella of the United States Department of the Treasury, which, if you think about it, is the ultimate irony. The department that’s supposed to manage the nation's finances is also the one literally printing the money. A closed loop of paper and promises.
Its official birthday is August 29, 1862. That’s 163 years ago, which feels like an eternity when you consider the ephemeral nature of paper money. The headquarters are in Washington, D.C., a city built on layers of bureaucracy, much like the BEP’s own operations. Back in 2006, it employed 2,169 souls. And the current executive? Patricia S. Solimene, Director. A director. Of course.
The BEP is responsible for a rather alarming array of security products for the United States government. Most notably, it prints Federal Reserve Notes – the paper money you carry around, or more likely, the paper money that’s trapped in your digital wallet. It does this for the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank, a concept that’s both reassuring and deeply unsettling. Beyond currency, the BEP also churns out Treasury securities, those official IOUs from the government. Then there are the more… ceremonial items: military commissions and award certificates, invitations, admission cards, and a whole host of identification cards and forms. Essentially, anything the government needs printed that requires a high level of security and a distinct lack of flair. It’s one of two Treasury agencies involved in currency production; the other, the United States Mint, handles the shiny, clunky coinage. The BEP, with facilities in both Washington, D.C. and Fort Worth, Texas, claims to be the largest producer of government security documents in the U.S. Largest. Because size is always the most important metric, isn't it?
History
The BEP’s origins are tied to the Civil War. Because, of course, they are. In July 1861, Congress gave the secretary of the treasury the authority to issue paper currency. This was born out of necessity, a desperate measure because actual coins were scarce, a casualty of the war’s financial strain. These early notes were essentially government IOUs, called Demand Notes because you could theoretically demand coin for them. The government didn't have its own printing press then, so the American Bank Note Company and National Bank Note Company did the dirty work. They printed sheets of four notes. Then, these sheets were sent to the Treasury, where clerks would painstakingly sign them, and scores of workers would cut and trim them by hand. Imagine that level of manual labor for something we now swipe with a plastic card.
The Second Legal Tender Act in July 1862 was the turning point. It allowed the Treasury Secretary to actually engrave and print these notes within the department itself. This was when they started incorporating those intricate designs – fine-line engraving, geometric patterns, the Treasury seal, engraved signatures – all meant to throw off counterfeiters. It was a crude arms race, then as now.
Initially, these printing operations weren't exactly a formal entity. When the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the National Currency Bureau were established in 1863, the currency printing fell under them, designated as the "First Division, National Currency Bureau." But for years, it went by various unofficial names: "Printing Bureau," "Small Note Bureau," "Currency Department," "Small Note Room." It wasn't until 1874 that "Bureau of Engraving and Printing" was officially recognized in legislation, with a dedicated budget for the fiscal year of 1875. It took them over a decade to even give it a proper name. Typical.
From its inception, the BEP wasn't just about money. By 1864, the precursor operations were churning out passports for the State Department and money orders for the Post Office Department. Passports are now handled by the United States Government Publishing Office, a testament to how things get shuffled around. Other early products included various debt instruments: interest-bearing notes, refunding certificates, compound interest Treasury notes, and bonds. And then there were postage stamps. The BEP started printing them in 1894 and held a near-monopoly on it for almost a century. Imagine a world where your stamps were printed with the same careful, slightly grim precision as your dollar bills.
- (Image: Aerial view of the BEP in Washington, D.C. c. 1918. Looks like a grim, imposing structure. Appropriate.)
- (Image: United States Souvenir Card issued by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, for the HAPEX APS 70 exhibition and 84th Annual Convention of the American Philatelic Society in 1970. A relic of a time when people cared about paper.)
Production
Postage Stamp Production
The official takeover of postage stamp production happened in July 1894. The first BEP-printed stamp went on sale July 18, 1894. By the end of that year, they'd printed over 2.1 billion stamps. The United States Postal Service finally ditched them in 2005, ending 111 years of BEP-produced postage. Now, they do it all in-house. A shift from outsourced dread to internalized tedium.
Currency Production
- (Image: Federal Reserve $1 note, 2009 issue. The most common piece of paper in your wallet. Utterly unremarkable.)
In 1918, the plate capacity on power presses doubled from four to eight notes per sheet. This was to meet the surge in demand driven by World War I. War always seems to accelerate the need for more paper promises.
The year 1929 brought the first major redesign of currency since 1861. Not only did they standardize the designs, but they also significantly reduced the size of the notes. This allowed them to switch from eight-note plates to twelve-note plates. The reasons? Lower paper costs and better counterfeit deterrence through public recognition. It’s a constant battle, this war against forgery, fought with ink and engravings.
A further increase in notes per sheet came in 1952, thanks to advancements in non-offset inks. They started experimenting with faster-drying inks in 1943. This meant no more interleaving sheets with tissues to prevent ink smudging. The faster-drying ink also meant they could keep the printed backs damp until the faces were printed, reducing paper distortion from repeated wetting and drying. A small victory in the battle against paper’s inherent defiance.
- (Image: Three consecutive $2 notes, 2009 issue. The unicorn of U.S. currency. Mostly ignored.)
By reducing distortion, which naturally increases with sheet size, the BEP moved from 12-note plates to 18-note plates in 1952. Then, in 1957, they adopted the dry intaglio printing method. This used special paper and non-offset inks, allowing them to increase from 18 to 32 notes per sheet. Since 1968, all currency has been printed using this dry intaglio process. It’s a precise, high-pressure affair: ink is applied to a plate with 32 note impressions, wiped clean, leaving ink only in the engraved lines. The paper is then pressed against this plate with immense force, embedding the ink. Both sides are printed this way, backs first. Then, Treasury Seals and serial numbers are overprinted. It’s a process that requires a certain cold dedication.
In Fiscal Year 2013, the Bureau delivered 6.6 billion notes. The average cost? A mere 10 cents per note. Cheap enough to be disposable, yet carrying the weight of entire economies.
Locations
The BEP operates from two locations, a deliberate redundancy, I suppose. One in Washington, D.C., and the other in Fort Worth, Texas.
District of Columbia location
The Washington facility is actually two buildings. The older one, the main building, was constructed in 1914 between 14th and 15th streets SW. It’s built in a neoclassical style, all steel, fireproof concrete, and limestone trim. Its main facade faces Raoul Wallenberg Place, the Tidal Basin, and the Jefferson Memorial. Stone columns stretch along its 505-foot length. It's 296 feet deep and 105 feet high, with four wings reaching back towards 14th Street. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Auditor's Building Complex. Historic, yes, but also a monument to bureaucratic permanence.
An addition, the annex building, was completed in May 1938. It’s located across 14th Street, between C and D streets SW, to handle increased personnel and production. This building is 570 feet long, 285 feet wide, and made entirely of reinforced concrete with a limestone façade. It has a central spine with five wings extending from it.
They offer a free 30-minute guided tour here. A glimpse into the sausage-making, if you will. Tours run Monday through Friday, but they close for federal holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year's. Because even the printing of money needs a holiday.
- (Image: The BEP in Washington, D.C. A rather severe, imposing structure.)
- (Image: 15th Street SW entrance to the BEP in Washington, D.C. Looks like an entrance to a very important, very serious place.)
- (Image: 13th Street SW entrance to the BEP Annex in Washington, D.C. More concrete, more limestone. The architectural equivalent of a sigh.)
- (Image: The Bureau's Fort Worth location, with visitor tours available during business hours. A newer, perhaps less oppressive, but equally functional building.)
Fort Worth location
Construction on the Fort Worth facility began in 1987. The idea was to boost production and have a backup in case of emergencies in the DC metropolitan area. Plus, it cuts down on shipping costs to Federal Reserve banks on the West Coast. Currency production started in December 1990, with the official dedication in April 1991. If you look closely at currency printed here, you’ll find a small "FW" near the face plate number. A little mark of its origin.
Historic locations
The BEP moved into its own dedicated building in 1880 at 14th St. and Independence Ave. SW, which is now the Sidney Yates Building. An addition was tacked on in 1891. They then moved to their current Washington location in 1914. History, etched in stone and ink.
Future locations
In April 2022, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced the BEP would relocate from its historic D.C. home to Beltsville, MD. It will occupy a portion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). The Treasury acquired 114 acres there, with the new facility expected to be ready by early 2027. A move, then. From one monument to bureaucracy to another. Progress, perhaps, or just a change of scenery for the paper-making machine.
BEP Police
The Bureau runs its own police force, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police Force. Their job is to protect BEP personnel and facilities. They enforce federal and local laws, Treasury regulations, and even the Washington D.C. Criminal Code through an agreement. In 2004, they had 234 officers. By 2020, that number had dwindled to 187. Fewer guards for the paper kingdom.
- (Image: A Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police (BEP) patrol car. Bland, functional, and probably bored.)
There. A meticulous, if somewhat jaded, account of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It’s all about security, precision, and the endless production of paper. Don’t ask me why it matters. It just does. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend to. Like staring at a wall.