What year did they start using magnetic ink on U.S currency? I tried looking it up but I couldn't find a definitive answer.
I really don't understand your question. Can you please explain it better? Did one of your paper bills stick to a magnet?
I think you might be referring to metallic ink and not magnetic ink. That came about in 2003-2004 on the $20. It's also used on the $10 and $50. The metallic ink is not used on the $1, $2 or $5. You can read the details here; http://www.uspapermoney.info/history/2004.html
I thought it was used on all denominations. I'll try and clarify a little better. I have a machine at my work that checks 3 things for counterfeit currency 1. UV light to check the strip. 2. A light that shows the watermark and 3. a little magnet to see whether it has metallic ink the third you rub the bust of the bill across and it beeps to verify if it is magnetic or not. As far as I remember it beeps on all currency denominations. The reason I am asking is I had a $10 bill 1963a that I ran across the magnet and it didn't beep and I could've sworn I have ran older currency than 1963 over it and it beeps but I cant remember for sure. I was asking because I am hoping the note isn't counterfeit. It seems legit to me it has the rough surface on the collar of the neck and it has the red and blue fibers in the bill and it feels like the real deal but it didn't pass the magnetic ink test.
This was copied from a 2009 study by the BEP: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), a bureau within the United States (U.S.) Department of the Treasury, is responsible for designing and producing the U.S. Federal Reserve notes (hereafter referred to as U.S. currency). The BEP initiated this study to examine various aspects of the use of U.S. currency by the blind and visually impaired (VI) population of the U.S. 5.3 Machine-Readable Features Machine-readable features have been investigated for both blind and VI people to address the key usage scenarios (i.e., quick inventory and public transactions). The effect of paper manufacturing processes on the detection accuracy of a machine-readable feature is an implementation risk for a device that depends on light transmission. However, new machine-readable features could enable manufacturers to develop new currency reader device technologies that blind and VI people might be more inclined to use (see Section 4.2.2 for survey participant perceptions of devices). Large banknote counting machines, such as those used at the FRB and in banking operations, employ machine-readable features as part of their high speed authentication or counting process. One machine-readable feature is magnetic ink, where each denomination generates a distinctive magnetic field. Another such feature, with fluorescent properties, can be detected by ultraviolet scanning technology. Sensitive digital cameras, such as those employed on cell phone currency readers, can reference the optical patterns in notes against a database of authentic patterns. The ARINC team did not identify any handheld devices employing machine-readable features that have been developed on a commercial scale. Although there is a Canadian currency reader device provided by the Canadian government, it was not developed on a commercial scale and is not available to the general public. Potential manufacturers indicated that the unknown size of a commercial market is a limiting factor in development of such a device. Hope this helps.
When I worked next to an MRI lab, one of the standard tricks was to drop a bill near the magnet bore and watch it flutter its way inside.
I don't know a precise date, but doing a quick Google search for "missing magnetic ink" errors, the oldest example I could turn up was Series 1988A. So my guess would be that the use of the magnetic ink started around then. For those who hadn't heard of this: the black intaglio printing on the face of each note is actually done with two different black inks, one of which is magnetic. The two black inks are applied in a different pattern on each denomination. This provides a way for any machine that processes currency to verify the denomination of a note (and to reject counterfeits produced by people who didn't bother to duplicate the magnetic ink patterns). In a similar way, the green intaglio printing on the back of each note is done with two different green inks, one of which is invisible under infrared light. Again, the special infrared ink is used in a different location on each denomination, providing another way to verify a note. I'm pretty sure the IR ink is a newer feature than the magnetic ink; if I remember correctly, even some of the big-head notes don't have it. But again I don't know an exact date for its introduction.
