In 1965, The Commission approved the roll out of an original currency for the criminal networks of America’s underworld. They named it Blood Money and the official units were called Stilla, the Latin translation for "drop". The idea was that one Stilla would be equivalent to one drop of Blood Money.
Two Criminal Reserves were set up in New York City and Chicago to oversee the production of the new bills. On August 19, both locations performed an initial test run of each denomination. The results were spectacular. This, however, would be the first and only press run as the feds had already been tipped off by Reserve Boss Sammy “The Mouth” Carlucci’s scorned lover as payback for his past infidelity.
On August 23, known as Red Monday, the feds raided both Reserves. Among other things, they confiscated presses, tons of red ink, press sheets, freshly cut bills and to their surprise, a stack of Polaroid photos detailing the entire process (a blatant violation of the omertà code). The Blood Money bills never made it into circulation and the original drawings were never uncovered.
The Blood Money Collection is a digital reproduction of the original prints from 1965. Only the first 100 bills of each denomination will be added to the blockchain. Each bill will have a unique serial number and note position. Every 10th bill is a special prototype print that Hanz created as an alternate design. After purchasing, you will receive a link to download the high res file (7,201 x 3,062) so you can appreciate all the intricate details of Hanz’s craftsmanship. Don’t ask how the drawings were obtained. If we told you... well, you know.
For the artwork of the new currency, The Commission enlisted the skills of German master engraver Hanz Schreiber Einer who they dubbed “Das Vinci”. Hanz’s designs were inspired by the art deco movement of the 20’s and 30’s as well as the traditional line work of the US dollar. It is believed that some of his design elements and techniques, such as the big face portraits and color shifting ink helped influence the look of the modern US notes.
The Blood Money bills were printed 32 up on a sheet and utilized the same note positioning and plate numbering system as the US dollars of that time. These features were added to help legitimize the bills and pass them off as an official currency.
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