OT: Counterfeit Money

You'd be surprised how many things have UV watermarks on them. E.g. my state drivers license has the state symbol (An anchor) and thirteen stars around it.

Only visible if you shine UV light on it.

There's a rash of counterfeiting going on in my area. It involves washing the ink off 5 dollar bills and re-printing them as higher denominations. This defeats the chemical pens that will reveal the use on substandard paper.

It is possible to hold a bill up to some light and check whether the watermark matches the portrait printed on the face of the bill. But this is 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 use once. If one illuminates US currency with a UV 'back light' the plastic security strip fluoresces. Each denomination's strip is in a different location and its strip fluoresces with a different color. A simple guide affixed under the lamp is used for comparison, although the clerk I talked to said that she got used to identifying the strip/color location very 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 a glance.

This seems like pretty inexpensive and simple technology. So why don't more people use it?

Why not simply print different denominations on slightly different size sheets of paper ?

I've heard that the dollar is the most widely counterfeited currency worldwide.

Graham

-- due to the hugely increased level of spam please make the obvious adjustment to my email address

How European of you (the right wing-nuts would say).

Its actually a good idea. It makes things easier for the blind and will screw over Diebold when they have to re-engineer all their currency handling equipment.

Why would it screw over Diebold? Seems they'd appreciate the business.

US passports as well.

One interesting note: I've been chasing down information on currency UV security markings. While the Treasury makes some references to bills fluorescing in different colors, they don't accurately describe the exact locations and colors of the security strips for each denomination and version of bill (I've noticed that the strips has been moved between two designs of the $5, IIRC).

It isn't just Europe ;)

Note to USAians: Europe is one continent, not an abbreviation for "the rest of the world".

See also: the metric system.

This has been done for decades. Check "washing" is done in much the same way.

What do they do with old bills? My bet is that, like house locks, the anti-counterfeiting measures are simply to scare the crooks into going next door.

Because their current designs have been paid for. They'd have to fund the R&D for new bill handling equipment and other (foreign) companies are way ahead in that know-how.

Their market gets so much bigger with all the systems (right down to cash registers) that get tossed out. It's not going to happen.

Actually, they should welcome it, million machines out there to upgrade (and charge for it).

So? Its still full of nobodies.

And still has an economy larger than N America

I once saw the inside of a Wurlitzer 1013 that a former boss was restoring. It had three coin slots, 5 cents, ten cents, and 25 cents. Inside the box, the three coin paths were merged into a single chute, and then went to the coin counter which sorted them anyway. He pointed it out, and said, "See? This is the kind of tehcnologyh we're dealing with!"

Juke Boxes are a nightmare to repair.

Cheers! Rich

Product idea - hand-held wand that reads the magnetic ink on bills, a la modern bill acceptors, and announces the value of the bill, for blind folks.

I saw a thing on edjamacational teevee once, where some blind guy had a UPC reader on a wand, so he could "read" the contents of the cans in the pantry.

Cheers! Rich

So? You need all of them.

In the UK we have a 50p coin which has 5 sides. It's a particular shape ( probably has some name ) that ensures the distance across the diameter is constant so making it totally compatible with round coin handling equipment. Mind you, in pre decimal currency days we had a 3d piece which was octagonal and that didn't seem to give vending machines etc any problem.

I assume you still have the one dollar note ? Over here we're talking of phasing out the £5 note ( the £1 note went long ago and we also have a newish £2 coin ). I think that's a step too far. £4.99 in coins gets quite heavy.

Graham

-- due to the hugely increased level of spam please make the obvious adjustment to my email address

How many Nobel winners AREN'T US citizens ? You're only 5% of the world population but behave like it was 95%.

Graham

-- due to the hugely increased level of spam please make the obvious adjustment to my email address

Indeed, a new profit and sales expansion opportunity.

Graham

-- due to the hugely increased level of spam please make the obvious adjustment to my email address