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Get out that magnifier!

August 31, 2008 A little more attention to detail on currency, and you’ll see why it’s made the way it is. Foiling digital counterfeiters is the assignment of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, whose work we all appreciate so much. But, some digital copiers are so good that the earlier designs of currency could be copied – literally – and then passed to unsuspecting merchants.

Last May, I received a counterfeit $5 bill from a change machine at the BART station in downtown San Francisco, and I didn’t notice it. An hour later, when buying a coffee at a local Starbucks, the sharp-eyed clerk handed it back to me with a snappy “Not so fast, buddy!” retort. Once I looked more closely, I found it obviously a fake. Heck, it had a stochastic halftone pattern!


Real currency does not have halftone dots of any kind. Tonality is imparted to the image by skilled engraving artists who manipulate a sharp steel stylus into a relatively soft plate of steel, cutting lines and swirls that, when viewed at a proper distance, cause the illusion of tonality. These lines also foil most copying systems, as they are too small, and too sharp to be reproduced with precision by any photocopying technology.

Even high-resolution lithographic and technical films, processed carefully, have difficulty holding the detail of currency. And, the newest versions of the U.S. $5, $10, $20 and $50 notes have color-shifting ink, metallic fibers embedded in the paper, and a magnetic stripe, all of which help to foil counterfeiters. The U.S. $20 went through two revisions in recent years in order to make the bills more resistant to copying.

Just to appreciate the difficulty of making the original plates used for currency, take a look with a loupe at the detail in money. And, if you have access to any, look at the Euro, and you’ll see that it features even more complex printed components including a hologram stamp. And in both U.S. currency and most other monies, the paper is now watermarked with an image unique to the bill. U.S. money, in the latest versions, is printed on paper stock (made by Crane’s Paper of Boston, Mass.) that has an image of the specific president in the paper. Would-be counterfeiters: that paper is impossible to get.

The cost of doing this is stunning. But, when you’re printing press sheets with $1,600 value each, the cost of design and preparation is relatively unimportant.

Here’s a deal (or a scam, depending on your perspective): You can buy uncut sheets of currency from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Available in denominations up to $50.00, the sheets are 16-up pages of uncut bills. They sell you the press sheet; you frame it. They keep the money, you never use it... get the picture? And, the best part is that they charge extra for not cutting the money into individual bills. The $50 sheet sells for $900, one hundred more than face-value. Now, there is a deal!

I like the idea of having a press sheet of $800 worth of $50 notes on the wall. Would that be an invitation to burglars? Makes a nice gift, though.

Posted by Brian Lawler on August 31, 2008 | Comments (0)