Genuine Bills
That’s it. If a bill:
- Looks and feels like a US bank note
- Has color-shifting ink
- Has a watermark that matches the portrait
- And has a security thread with text that matches the denomination
Then it’s almost certainly a genuine bill.
What about older bills?
There are still some old bills around, from before these security features were added (starting in 1996). Now that it’s been more than ten years, it’s about time to simply refuse to accept old bills. Bills that old, that are still in circulation—especially high-denomination bills—are much too likely to be counterfeit. If it is genuine, the holder can easily enough take it to the bank and get some new currency, so your refusing to take it is no burden on an an innocent holder of old but genuine currency.
More info
If you’re interested in this sort of thing (the way I am), here are some other pages worth checking out:
- The US Secret Service page on spotting counterfeit money: This page covers spotting counterfeits the old-fashioned way, without using the security features of modern bills.
- The How Stuff Works article How Counterfeiting Works: This page actually walks you through making your own counterfeit with a scanner and a color printer. It explains why it’s harder than it looks and how most counterfeiters are usually caught and sent to prison for a long time.
- An article from the St. Louis Federal Reserve—Currency Design in the United States and Abroad: Counterfeit Deterrence and Visual Accessibility: On how different countries have tried to optimize the trade-offs between fighting counterfeiting, making their money accessible to people with limited vision, and making the money easy for banks and other high-volume users of currency to handle.
By Philip Brewer of Wisebread. Image source: Department of the Treasury.
Related articles:
- Need Extra Cash? A Handy Guide to Moonlighting
- Ten Money Lessons from the Great Depression
- Five Ways to Make Extra Money Online
