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Counterfeit Prevention Measures In Modern Currency
By Devon Valenta
Governments around the world have been revamping their to protect against the threat of counterfeiting that has become a serious problem in the past few decades
With technology being cheap and computer equipments available at dirt prices it's becoming easier for the counterfeiters to duplicate the designs and images of modern currency. The threat of counterfeiting is a serious crime and governments the world over have taken severe steps to curb it. We will discuss a few of the methods that have been deployed against the counterfeiters worldwide.
In the late 80s the United States government issued 20, 50 and 100 dollar denominations that included a “security strip” inside the bill. This security strip is made of fluorescent plastic and is embedded in the bill itself. The strip runs from the top to the bottom of these bills and can be easily read when held under a fluorescent light bulb. The denomination of the bill is clearly written on the strip, which can help prevent counterfeiters from “upgrading” lower denominations of bill to higher denominations by “washing” the ink from the paper and reprinting the graphics of the bill using dye sub or laser printers.
Another method used by the United States government was the water marking system. The latest bills issued by the treasury have images embedded in the currency's paper. The watermark image can be viewed under a light source.
It must be mentioned here that the counterfeit of some denominations is, at times, produced with those images that are actually meant for the bills of some other denominations. For instance, some counterfeit US in circulation internationally has $5-bills bearing the images that are actually meant for the $100-bill. Though such counterfeit bills have a very genuine look and feel, they can still be identified quite easily because it is not possible to bleach out the watermark, as is the case with the surface images. So, when the counterfeit $5-bills are held up against a source of light, they show up the image of former US President Lincoln in the watermark which
is the actual image that should appear on all the bills of this denomination.
The latest counterfeit prevention technology put into use is the usage of special inks that appear to be different colors at different angles. Viewed from the left it would reveal the color green, and from the right the color would be black. These color-changing inks are very difficult to reproduce as they use a special compound that is next to impossible for the counterfeiters to manufacture.
These are just a few security features that have been used to secure the Modern United States currency. So be prepared for more new methods and technology to maintain the integrity of the almighty dollar.
Copyright 2006, Devon Valenta, All Rights Reserved. This article may be published on web sites or in newsletters provided this notice and the resource box is included without ammendment. Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com Devon Valenta provides a range of resources at his web site: Fone Currency, where you will find information that will help you on many related issues. Why not take a look: www.fonecurrency.com
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