I've seen some really nice bills floating around this site that I know nothing about except they are really nice. It made me think, because some of them are from the late 1800's and later, so here I go. With China putting out record numbers of fake Trade Dollars, Draped Bust, Capped Bust Halves and selling them on ebay faster than you can say himalaya. Has anyone come across any counterfeit bills? Are there many to watch out for? thx
Counterfeit notes exist across the board! It dates back to the Colonial Days. As a matter of fact, one of the questions in my contest is about counterfeiting. Very unique measures back in the 18th and 19th Centuries were developed and used as anti-counterfeiting measures. In todays production of banknotes the technology is better, I only wish the notes were of the same quality as the by gone days. You must understand counterfeiting and what to look for, this involves an understanding of engraving, plate making, paper used in production, inks, silk threads, paper composition, all kinds of variables. The Series 1869 Rainbow notes I have posted lately were designed precisely for new anti-counterfeiting deterrents all over that note! The blue stain, the security silk's, the ink coloring, process in which that paper was made...it just goes on and on...you can spend endless hours reading about this subject! It all comes down to know what you are looking at.....often counterfeited notes of decades and centuries ago will be fuzzy or a little more blurred than a proper note, but todays technology is far superior to the counterfeiting measures of the late 1800's and early 19th Century. RickieB
