Have you ever had a fake banknote? What made you realise it was fake?

Question

(Am writing a dissertation on counterfeit banknotes and researching the field...)

Answer 1

just recently my wife got paid a fake € 20 note.. we only knew when we went to buy some cigs and they wouldn't accept it..
on euro notes there is a small section with ridges on the front of the note that you can feel with a finger nail... if it ain't there it's a dud

Answer 2

Feel of the paper was the big thing. US currency has a very distinct feel to it.

The watermarks on US currency are also something to look for. Counterfeiters can get the printing, but the watermarks are physical modifications of the paper that are MUCH harder to fake.

Heard an interesting bit on NPR about proposals to include nanotech in future bills. The expert said that in about 10 years printing technology would allow anybody with a good laser printer to counterfeit any currency.

I think the guy is full of it.

You can do a lot of things with ink, but the stuff that gets embedded in the paper is MUCH harder to fake.

Answer 3

Usually they just dont feel right, as the paper used (in UK anyway) is only supplied to Royal Mint.
If you rub a real banknote onto a piece of white paper, the ink will rub off.
If you spray a dud note with certain types of aerosol, the detector pens won't work, so have a sniff, too!

Answer 4

When I used to work in a shop we had a few fake notes come through. One I had personally had a yellow tinge to it, another I remember being shown didn't feel like real money and the silver strip looked like it had been drawn on with a pen.

Answer 5

No, but I once got a fake £1 coin. I could tell it was fake as it was too light compared to the others and it's edge wasn't ridged in the same manner. The colour of it was slightly wrong as well.

Answer 6

used to work in an airport shop and often had tourists try to spend fake notes. just the feel of the paper was enough to make me realise it was fake, then when you look at it the printing quality was never up to scratch. easy to spot if you're used to the currency in question but not so easy for foreigners to recognise.

Answer 7

I heard a spokesman for the federal reserve once say that the dollar was not based on anything. To me that means they are not held to a standard and are all fake.

Answer 8

Yes. I knew because I made it. Never spent it because I knew it was a fake.

Answer 9

My £20 note had 'Monopoly' printed on it. So I was suspicious. A little :-)

Answer 10

When a shop refused it. It looked real to me.