A couple questions: 1. I thought the current colors for the security threads were standardized back in 1996 (or as they rolled out), but I just wanted to double check? 2. Can the color of the security thread fade or change with the age of the note? 3. Can the ability for the security thread to floresce fade or change with the age of the note? 4. Is there a specification from the BEP for the wavelength of the UV light used to check the color of the security thread? Background: So, since I've been going through a substantial amount of kennedy halves lately, I've been getting a substantial amount of cash when I return them (I return the coins to a different bank than the one I got them at). I've read plenty of gripes on the internet how people have received a counterfeit bill from a Bank and basically once they walk out, the bank disavows all responsibility. Well, I've got a UV Pen Light. It was intended for reading invisible ink, but it worked just fine for finding the leak on my air conditioner system on my truck. Up until now, it seemed to work fine for just about anything that needed a UV light. So I start looking through the cash I have laying around and I can see the threads on my 5's, 10's, and 20's floresce but have trouble seeing the color. The 5's and 20's appear to floresce the brightest, but I can't tell the difference between the two very well. The 10's definitely look orange through the UV light. I go to the bank today and cash in $1860 worth of halves. I get 18 $100's, and 3 $20's. Not a single $100 appeared to floresce with my UV light. All three $20's floresced, but two of them were orange, the third was green. I figured I couldn't have possibly gotten 18 counterfeit bills at once from a bank so I take my money and leave. In a pitch black room, the one $20 is bright green and the other 2 are dull orange, almost like the $10. The strips do say 20 on them and while they are not close in serial number, they are 2001's. In the pitch black, I still got absolutely no florescence from the $100 bills. It was really strange since I could easily see every other denomination just fine (except for the $20's with the orange threads). I'm assuming that wavelength range on my pen light is just too broad, but then the question arises, where can one get a good pen light to do a quick check on money as they recieve it.
Just got myself access to a stack of 50's and ALL dated 1996 and newer showed up a bright yellow. I guess from now on I will only accept $50's instead of $100's so I can easily check them. I'm still curious about those two $20's that showed up orange. I wonder if this is a mismatch type of error that I just have not read about yet. All the rest of my $20 showed up bright green.
Just to note, you shouldn't depend solely on checking the security threads. High-end sophisticated counterfitters have been known to put strips into their bills and likewise if you find a bill without a strip it is not necessarily counterfeit as the strips can be removed and sliced/cut out of genuine notes. One of the best and oldest ways to detect a possible counterfeit is simply by feel. I have knowingly handled two counterfeit bills and I could immediately tell they were "off" just by feeling them. Another good way to quickly check several bills is by looking at the color-shifting ink while feeling the bill at the same time as you look at the shift. Of course with that all said if you come across a pre-1990 collector bill don't be alarmed as those don't have any of the modern features that today's bills have.
I was looking for a quick way to check a lot of bills quickly. I've been collecting paper money since I was a kid and feel that I would be able to spot 99% of counterfeits out there upon close inspection. I feel I would be able to spot most poor counterfeits at a glance just by a quick touch or look. It's the high quality counterfeits I was worried about. When I'm going to a bank and getting some 20 $100 bills every week, I don't really want to stand there looking at each and every one and going by just gut instinct. I see all these restaurants using these pens that check for the denim, but I know for a fact I would spot a counterfeit using the wrong paper (that's just too easy). A good counterfeitor would use denim either by making it themself, or washing bills like Iraqi Dinars. I felt that if every bill I received had the correct color, florescing security thread, the odds of me getting burned drop dramatically. Plus, since I'm in a bank, what trouble is it to them if I ask them to change a bill I just received from them when I'm still standing in front of the teller. It only takes seconds for me to check the color on a huge stack of bills. With the $5's, $20's, and the $50s, it appears that with the pen light I have, I can see the color of the strip in broad daylight. The $10's are difficult to see the orange in the daylight, but I can see them just fine in a dim room. The $100's for some reason I cannot see the color at all in a pitch black room. From now on, I'm going to stick to getting $50's. Now, I think I may have a Mule. I've found 3 $20's now with an orange thread. It's the exact same color as the $10's, but the writing is correct for a $20 bill.
I think this is the solution you are looking for, you can try it with confidence. Taken as spam as did not fit the OP, even if it was years ago. I think it will help
