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View Full Version : Could you spot a fake note?


Miss Alpinestarhero
30-06-09, 12:28 PM
Thought this article was pretty interesting - I didnt know some of the stuff on there..!

Ive copied and pasted most of it from here (http://money.uk.msn.com/consumer/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=12546818&dub-gallery-photo-number=2)because the slideshow bit is uber slow :smt019 Unless its just my computer :rolleyes:

1) Quite often, the feel of the paper is the first sign that the note is counterfeit - fake notes tend to feel more like paper, while real notes have a cloth-like feel

http://forums.sv650.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4679&stc=1&d=1246364021

2) Some parts of every banknote in circulation have raised printing, so you'll be able to feel slightly different textures by running your finger across the note, specifically along the main "Bank of England" script on the front. A forged note may feel the same all over.

3) Real currency is incredibly detailed, colourful and sharp, while counterfeit cash can have less quality in the fine detail. the printing on a note should have no smudges or blurred edges.

http://forums.sv650.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4680&stc=1&d=1246364694

4) Every banknote has a metallic thread woven through the paper - not just printed or painted on either side. While the thread looks like silver dashes the face, it should appear as a continuous line when held up to the light.

5) A clear watermark with the Queen's picture is on every banknote. The image should be almost invisible unless held to a light source. If you can see the watermark while the note is flat, it's cause for suspicion. The image should be detailed, clear and visible even on worn notes.

6) The hologram on £5, £10 and old-style £20 notes will alternate between the denomination of the currency and a colourful picture of Brittania. The value of the note is also displayed in lettering around the picture

http://forums.sv650.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4681&stc=1&d=1246364720

7) On a new-style £20 note, the hologram has been replaced with a holographic strip just right of the signature of the chief cashier. One hologram in the strip shows Adam Smith (the famous economist), while the others alternate between a multi-coloured pound sign and the number 20 in digits.

8) On the latest £20, a see-through register that looks like random dashes turns into a pound sign when held up to the light

http://forums.sv650.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4682&stc=1&d=1246364739

9) Appearing under the Queen, decorative swirls spell out the value of the note in alternating letters and numerals. These are impossible to decipher with the naked eye, so a magnifying glass is needed.

http://forums.sv650.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4683&stc=1&d=1246364751

10) When you put legitimate currency under a high-quality UV light, designated parts of the note will show the denomination in glowing colours, while the rest of the note stays dull. Under ordinary light, there is no trace of this number. The new-style £20 note also has random flecks of red and green scattered throughout the paper when placed under a UV lamp.

Hope it was useful reading :smt040

Viney
30-06-09, 12:36 PM
The answer is yes. The fact im a printer for a living and can spot bad printing/colour/paper pretty easy its not that difficult. I also worked in a pub for 3 years which was frequented by undesirable types aho all tried to get the notes through the pub!! £5 notes were very popular at times as most people rearly check them We had fake pound coins as well.

I have seen a few super notes, brought to us by the local plod, and they said that even they couldnt tell them form the real thing. 99% of the time, super notes are printed on an ex royal mint press! The easiest way to check if a note is real is to burn it. It will produce black smoke with a purple flame!

simesb
30-06-09, 12:39 PM
You know in some countries, like Morocco, it is illegal to photograph the currency. That is all.

Graciepants
30-06-09, 12:51 PM
i have been told that the little red triangle on £50 notes has been done with an ink that never completely dries, so you know if its real if you rub it against a piece of paper and it leaves a little red smear? someone showed me this and it does work, but is it real or just a coincidence?

flymo
30-06-09, 01:12 PM
i have been told that the little red triangle on £50 notes has been done with an ink that never completely dries, so you know if its real if you rub it against a piece of paper and it leaves a little red smear? someone showed me this and it does work, but is it real or just a coincidence?

Sure that wasnt a fake one fresh from an Epson inkjet? 8-[

Spiderman
30-06-09, 03:29 PM
The easiest way to check if a note is real is to burn it. It will produce black smoke with a purple flame!

I've always said you're too rich for your own good. Look at you now, got money to burn and everything. You sir make me sick.

Bedhead
30-06-09, 03:37 PM
We get the odd fake one here in work, when you tell the punter, they deny all knowledge, but scarper when you say you have to phone the cops.:cool:

One NI bank has plastic fivers, I read somewhere you could sell them for a tenner on ebay!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

jamesterror
30-06-09, 04:00 PM
i have been told that the little red triangle on £50 notes has been done with an ink that never completely dries, so you know if its real if you rub it against a piece of paper and it leaves a little red smear? someone showed me this and it does work, but is it real or just a coincidence?

Thats a fake, I've got a fifty note here and it don't smudge at all like that.

Viney
30-06-09, 04:10 PM
i have been told that the little red triangle on £50 notes has been done with an ink that never completely dries, so you know if its real if you rub it against a piece of paper and it leaves a little red smear? someone showed me this and it does work, but is it real or just a coincidence? Thats true. Nothing to do with the ink drying though and i think it was the old £50 nothe that done that. Not seen a new one yet to have a look

Thats a fake, I've got a fifty note here and it don't smudge at all like that. If its a new one, see above

I've always said you're too rich for your own good. Look at you now, got money to burn and everything. You sir make me sick.Na, i burn other poeple money, drug dealers and peolpe who pay for bike parking in Westminster mainly!!

northwind
30-06-09, 04:19 PM
I used to do all the cash management for a bank branch so I'm pretty good, tbh the most important ones to know about are the feel of the paper, and the thread through the note- very few counterfeits have the thread done right, so if in doubt just trying to tear the note slightly, across the thread, will show most fakes up.

There are seriously good fakes which, to be totally honest, I wouldn't always notice... Good enough that almost nobody will notice, so they might as well be real. The investment of time to catch every fake going through a £2 million cash stock is just not worth the effort, so we didn't really bother, we just wanted to catch the obvious ones.

Miss Alpinestarhero
30-06-09, 04:26 PM
The easiest way to check if a note is real is to burn it. It will produce black smoke with a purple flame!

I wouldnt want to do that for fear of burning actual cash..!

nakedblue650
30-06-09, 08:38 PM
Easy really! If you cant tell by touch try to remember bank notes are made from cotton not paper and dont contain any starch hence the UV tests carried out in shops and bars etc.

nb650

MR UKI (1)
30-06-09, 08:40 PM
I do that as part of my current job, we get a fair few over a month, some are really good and some are so obviously fake it's untrue :D.

phil24_7
30-06-09, 08:43 PM
I have seen fake notes pass a UV test and real ones fail so that's no guarantee!

I'm very good at spotting fakes as I worked in a pub for 6 years, take-away for 4 years and in retail for 1 year. I also have some undesirable friends who MAY have come into contact with various fakes from time to time!

Regards

dizzyblonde
30-06-09, 09:01 PM
I've worked in many pubs, and handled many many fake notes. You can feel them. Fake ones don't have a raised print, admittedly there are good ones out there, but I can usually spot em

lukemillar
30-06-09, 09:22 PM
I was given a fake five pound note in my change when buying my lunch once. I couldn't take it back though because I had already walked out the shop so there was no way to prove it came from there. I didn't look closely at the time, but it was pretty obvious.

Anyway, I kept in in my wallet for a while figuring it could be good for a joke. Walking home from work when I lived in Hackney, this freaky, high off his t!ts, drug addict, comes running across the road, grabs my jacket and says "give us some money, bro". I try to keep walking, but he doesn't let go, instead starts shaking me, and constantly repeating "give us some money, bro" about 2 inches from my face. So I gave him the fake fiver and he ran off happy and presumably to attempt to buy his next hit!

Seemed like karma - reintroducing the fake currency back into the criminal industries that created it! :)

Holdup
30-06-09, 09:29 PM
Prob already said but havent read it, on a new 20 in the rh corner of one side there is loads of little 20's, they are slightly raised, thats an easy way to tell