Was there a watermark or security strip in the note? This is a pretty good fake, with correct serial numbers and plate positions.
Dead giveaway for me. Whenever I handle $50s or old-style $100s, I always check for the security strip or watermark, to make sure that no counterfeit bills ever get entered into WG? If I get bills from Series 1988 or older (an extremely rare occurrence), then the bill will be tested with a counterfeit pen.
This $100 from post #1 would look really good from 2 feet away during a busy restaurant rush. The only thing that stuck out to me at first glance was the ragged bottom edge.
Yes agreed. The $50 from post #39 also had a watermark, security strip, and passed pen test. The security strip didn't glow yellow; followed by scratching the lapel which confirmed it was counterfeit. I have learned pens don't always work. I plan to keep this thread going each time I (hopefully) catch it from getting passed.
The counterfeit pens are a joke. The Secret Service has stated quality counterfeits are often sprayed with chemicals to react as being genuine when they're swiped. Additionally, they don't work on currency that was printed before the mid-1960's (this is acknowledged by the manufacturers on the packaging of the pens but obviously isn't often read or comprehended well). This frequently results in cashiers and bank tellers thinking they've found a counterfeit when all they've found is an old bill. The best way to tell if a note is genuine is to go by the three rules that have been around since the 18th century: check for little fibers in the note, check the feel of the note and go by your instinct. Essentially, one doesn't need to use and depend on some easily fallible contraption to find out whether a note is genuine or not.
I've heard others say the pens are not cheap. It makes you wonder if the pens are really worth their cost. On one hand it does give a teller another tool to detect, but if the teller is putting too much reliance on the pen and not using other methods than the pen could have a negative affect. I also wonder if the pens are maybe used as deterrents. Perhaps to put the word on the street that tellers are at least doing something to check. Who knows.
The pens like any tool can fail. The pens make for a device to hold accountability as well as deter potential counterfeiters. If a bill is taken and the device is not used you can better hold the person accountable. With the price of pens and likeness to fail we converted to UV lights. Replacing the batteries is a fraction of the cost of replacing the pen. Also to my knowledge the pens are only made by few enough companies that the pens price point stays high and with supply and demand it's not coming down anytime soon.
I was reading through this thread and since nobody else said anything about this guy, figured I would. If you've never heard of this counterfeiter and his story it's pretty interesting stuff. I read this Rolling Stone article (http://jasonkersten.com/Art of Making Money.pdf) back when I was in high school like 10-ish years ago, and then about 6 months ago I saw him again on an episode of the show "American Greed" on CNBC (episode 46)
Just to throw the opposite end of the story about how a genuine note can be seen as counterfeit, The Milwaukee coin club had a guest speaker in from the secret service and he brought a binder of fake notes in to show. One of the notes was a 50 turned in by an astute citizen because it was missing the seals and serial numbers. Yup, you guessed it, it was real, just missing the third printing. One final note, if you are an observant and knowledgeable collector, you probably know more than many of the secret service people, he learned more that night than we did, but his exhibit was cooler.
working the desk at a hotel, the night shift accepted some bills printed on printer paper from a normal color printer. The bills had been laid down on the desk in some water spilled there. The ink ran and the printer paper turned mushy. The manager, not a happy man showed them to me and asked what I thought. WOW. the man who passed them had been there a month. He was still there when the Secret Service invited him to their office. John D how do I post without replying? I like this site. the people are decent, unlike another site I quit going to. there is always good relevant information and I learn about things I never new
Wow. They got us today. It's crazy how often I see these. Reported this one today. My crewmember took it because it had a strip that glowed It's printed on a washed $5 note. $5 glows blue; $50 glows yellow....
Also, you can almost see the large purple "5" behind the "50" on the reverse. The only time I've ever seen a counterfeit bill was my aunt showing me some old bills she kept in a large Budweiser bottle coin bank about 4-5 years ago. I found a Series 1995 $10 that looked suspect. It was printed on white office paper and it had no security thread or microprinting. I told her that it was a fake and someone shorted her $10 many years ago. She didn't notice at the time but appreciated that I pointed it out to her.
Got hit with this counterfeit back in August. Notice the H2/H2. This one got through the cracks. We got hit with another $100 but this time we caught it in time. Both suspects were arrested and a car was taken into evidence as well as the bill. I feel we put a dent in the ring after almost an entire year and 12 bills later. Below is the final note we had received.