Antelope Valley Bank Branch Manager Kelli Strahl (above) shows Pam Sturdevant and Gary Meyer of The Mountain Enterprise how to spot a bogus $100 bill. At top is a close-up image of the "funny money."
Watch for these signs:
1) The face may show the wrong president because counterfeiters sometimes use other bills to add a zero, to make it a hundred. Benjamin Franklin’s face is on the hundred dollar bill.
2) The text “Federal Reserve Note” may be lighter, not bold as on a real bill.
3) The overall color of the counterfeit bills may be much more yellow than real bills.
4) The letters in “The United States of America” may feel too smooth on a counterfeit bill, unlike real bills which tend to feel raised from the ink.
5) Counterfeit bills are often printed on paper that is too smooth, as opposed to real currency paper which is more fibrous, almost like a paper fabric. Real bills have tiny red and blue fibers running through the paper.
6) The watermark (faint imbedded image of president’s face) in the upper right area of a counterfeit bill will be too bright or visible on the surface, as opposed to a real bill which must be held up to the light to see the faint watermark.
7) The fine lines in the border of a counterfeit bill are blurred and indistinct whereas the line in the border of a real bill are clear and unbroken.
This is part of the January 02, 2009 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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