Detecting Counterfeit Currency: A Retailer's Guide

Many of us are still adjusting to the wider, fatter and slightly off center 21st century Franklins, Grants and Jacksons (a.k.a. the new $100, $50 and $20 bills), which have been issued, in part, to combat a steady rise in high tech counterfeiters who use scanners, computer programs and color printers to convincingly copy the old currency. Former secret service agents Kirby Hutchison and James R. Lukash use scientific evidence and anecdotal stories in this guide to detecting counterfeit presidents to illustrate the superiority of the new tech-resistant bills. Color shifting ink changes hue as you turn the bill from side to side, making it impossible to reproduce on a color copier. Microprinting on Ben Franklin's collar is practically invisible to the naked eye (but does not, contrary to rumor, contain washing instructions for his shirts). Although both new and old currency is printed on cotton and linen rag bond paper available in stationary stores, each new bill has tiny blue and red microfibers imbedded within it. One counterfeit lab tried to duplicate the fibers by raising red and blue dyed hamsters (a difficult hobby to explain away). Ultimately, the hardest thing to copy is the watermark, clearly visible if the bill is held up to the light. A fast paced program designed primarily for busy retailers as opposed to general viewers, at a cost of only one (real) $20 bill, if a retailer learns how to recognize just one phony one, he or she has broken even. It's a pretty good value. Recommended, with reservations. Aud: P. (R. Ray)