OT: Counterfeit bill detection

Paul Hovnanian P.E. · 2009-06-25T02:16:14+00:00

There's a rash of counterfeiting going on in my area. This involveswashing the ink off 5 dollar bills and re-printing them as higherdenominations. This defeats the chemical pens that will reveal the useon substandard paper.It is possible to hold a bill up to some light and check whether thewatermark matches the portrait printed on the face of the bill. But thisis time consuming and rarely done by clerks in a hurry.There's one other method that works well, but I've only seen it in useonce. If one illuminates US currency with a UV 'back light' the plasticsecurity strip fluoresces. Each denomination's strip is in a differentlocation and its strip fluoresces with a different color. A simple guideaffixed under the lamp is used for comparison, although the clerk Italked to said that she got used to identifying the strip/color locationvery quickly. All one needs to do is drop their bill on the counter,next to the cash register and lamp. If its bad, a clerk can tell at aglance.This seems like pretty inexpensive and simple technology. So why don'tmore people use it?

Jun 25, 2009 24 Replies

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Randy 17 years ago

2006 data, with name of SS agent, and source.

Despite the rise, the amount of fake money in circulation is a fraction of 1% of genuine currency, Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren says.

Above quote taken from:

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I did hear that back in the early 80's over 50% of all US $100 bills in Europe were counterfeit. Came from an arms deal with Russia, The Russians wanted payment in US currency and the buyers paid in all fake

100's.

Thank You, Randy

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Randy 17 years ago

How Counterfeit Detectors Work:

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tips for Detecting Counterfeit Money :

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Thank You, Randy

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Jon Danniken 17 years ago

Look up Louis Colavecchio (view his equipment here:

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)

He couterfeitted casino chips, which, at the time of his first arrest, was not illegal. There was a show about him in History awhile back, "Counterfeit King" was the episode, "Breaking Vegas" was the series.

Jon

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rangerssuck 17 years ago

There was also this guy:

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drew remarkably good currency by hand, and traded it for goods as "works of art." as I remember it, the feds told him to cut it out. I saw him on a History Channel(?) show about counterfeiting a few years back.

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Paul Hovnanian P.E. 17 years ago

Solution: Hop over to Canada and pick up a model with the Canadian currency detection option. Bring back and copy US currency to your heart's content. ;-)

BTW, I hope it does this for denominations other than dollar bills. The most cost effective to counterfeit would probably be $20s. Too small to attract a clerk's attention like a $50 or $100.

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