About Paper Money

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How to detect counterfeit bills

Know your money by examining and becoming familiar with the bills you receive. Compare a suspected bill with a genuine one of the same denomination. Look at these features:

Portrait

Genuine: Appears lifelike and stands out distinctly from the fine screen-like background. The hairlines are distinct. The eyes should appear lifelike.

Counterfeit: Appears lifeless and the background is usually too dark. Portrait merges into the background. The hairlines are not distinct.

Treasury seal

Genuine: Saw-toothed points are even, clear and sharp.

Counterfeit: Saw-toothed points on the circumference are usually uneven, blunt and broken off.

Federal Reserve seal

Genuine: In pre-1996 series notes the letter inside the seal should conform to the prefix letter in the serial number. The Series 1996 notes up to the present have a universal Federal Reserve seal that doesn’t designate the individual bank for which the note was issued. A letter-number below the upper left serial number identifies the issuing Federal Reserve Bank.

Counterfeit: On pre-1996 series notes the points of the seal should be clear and sharp and the letters distinct. The large letter in the center should be on a white background. The universal Federal Reserve seal on Series 1996 notes and later series should appear crisp with well-defined elements.

Border

Genuine: The fine lines are clear, distinct and unbroken.

Counterfeit: The fine lines that crisscross are not clear or distinct.

Paper

Genuine: Printed on distinctive paper with visible, interspersed red and blue fibers. The paper is a blend of 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen, which gives it a special feel even if it has been washed.

Counterfeit: Printed on paper with no colored fibers evident, or with red and blue lines to simulate fibers. Notes printed on counterfeit paper may feel different or be whiter than genuine currency paper.

Watermark

Genuine: Series 1996 and later $5 to $100 notes have a watermark of the same portrait appearing on the face of the note. The watermark appears at the right of the face and left of the back. To view the watermark, hold the note to a light source. The watermark appears as a series of light and dark areas, and is a part of the paper (it is not printed on the note).

Counterfeit: Counterfeiters have been known to bleach genuine low-denomination notes like the $1 and $5 bills, removing the ink. The blank notes are then overprinted with counterfeit higher denominations. A counterfeit note printed on genuine though bleached paper either will not have a watermark (if printed on a blank $1 note) or the wrong watermark (for example, an altered $5 note used for printing a counterfeit $100 note will have a watermark of Abraham Lincoln rather than one of Benjamin Franklin.

Serial numbers

Genuine: On pre-1996 series of notes the serial numbers should be firmly inked and evenly spaced. The prefix letter on Federal Reserve notes should match the letter in the Federal Reserve seal. On genuine Series 1996 notes there are two prefix letters: the first designates the series and the second corresponds to the Federal Reserve Bank. There is also an additional letter-number combination directly under the serial number in the upper left corner. In addition the letter-number combination on the Series 1996 $100 is green while other denominations from the same series are printed in black.

Counterfeit: Serial numbers on counterfeit notes may be unevenly spaced, out of alignment or printed too dark or too light. Sometimes the prefix letter doesn't match the letter inside the Federal Reserve seal.

Security thread

A polyester thread is embedded vertically in the paper for denominations from $5 through $100. The thread has an inscription unique to the denomination. For example, when a $20 note is held to the light, a repeated USA20 appears on the thread.

The new Series 1996 redesigned notes added two new dimensions to the security thread – they are in a different position on different denominations and glow a different color in each denomination.

Color-shifting ink

Used on Series 1996 $100, $50, $20 and Series 1999 $10 FR notes in the numeral in the lower right corner on the face of the note. The color appears to change from green to black and back to green when the note is tilted. Series 2009 $100 FR notes will contain color-shifting ink on the face of the notes. When the note is tilted, the image of the Liberty Bell in the copper inkwell appears and then "disappears." The bell image is printed with color-shifting ink and changes from copper to green when the note is titled. A numeral 100 in the lower right corner of the face is also printed with color-shifting ink. The color of the numeral appear to changes from copper to green when the note is tilted.

Scrollwork

Look for very fine, crisscrossing lines that are sharp and unbroken on genuine notes. Fakes may have blurred lines or jagged, broken lines.

Microprinting

The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is repeatedly printed around the border of the portrait or on the collar of the person portrayed on Series 1996 notes. The letters are too small to read without magnification or to be reproduced distinctly on a copier machine.

Enhancement device for the visually impaired

A large dark numeral on a light background appears in the lower right corner on the back of the Series 1996 $50 and $20 notes. The device is designed to make it easier for people with low vision to identify the note. The $5 and $10 have this low-vision feature. The redesigned Series 2009 $100 notes also have this low-vision feature but it takes the form of a large numeral 100 printed in gold ink and outlined in blue ink. The large numeral runs vertically along the right-hand side of the back of the note.