In the 18th century, paper money emerged in the form of banknotes. Initially convertible into precious metals, the first banknotes indicated a specific amount of gold or silver that could be withdrawn from the bank. This system of equivalence, in which paper itself held no intrinsic monetary value, persisted until the early 20th century.

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Impacted by periods of world wars and economic crises, the original system eventually collapsed. Paper acquired a new value, not based on the concrete wealth of rare metals, but on a dependence on a structural institution created by states: the central bank. Tasked with issuing banknotes and managing the economy, the central bank became the core generator and producer of paper money.

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The democratization of liquid currency brought about new challenges in securing this lightweight, easily pilfered paper wealth. This new concern led, starting in the 1870s, to the creation and innovation of mechanized cash-handling machinery designed to protect these new banknotes.