Reactions | Can Science Beat Counterfeit Detector Pens? | Season 10 | Episode 1 | PBS (2024)

FAQs

Do counterfeit money detector pens work? ›

The best way to determine whether a note is genuine is to rely on the security features, such as the watermark and security thread. Counterfeit detection pens are not always accurate and may give you false results.

When you make a mark on genuine money with the pen, the mark will remain pale yellow. Simply put, when you mark on real money, there is no chemical reaction, and the mark stays yellow. When you mark on a counterfeit bill, a chemical reaction occurs, and the mark turns dark.

Basically, the only counterfeit bills which a counterfeit detector pen will detect are those printed on regular wood-based printer paper. And it does not even detect those 100 percent of the time, since there are easy chemical solutions to get around the pen detection test.

A counterfeit banknote detection pen is a pen used to apply an iodine-based ink to banknotes in an attempt to determine their authenticity. The ink reacts with starch in wood-based paper to create a black or blue mark but the paper in a real bill contains no starch, so the pen mark remains unchanged.

Look closely for blurry borders, printing, or text.

Look around the edges of the bill and at any small text. Authentic bills have extremely detailed micro-printing, meaning that even under a magnifying glass, the printing is crisp and the micro-text on the bill should be readable.

Security Thread

Hold the note to light to see an embedded thread running vertically to the left of the portrait. The thread is imprinted with the text USA TWENTY and a small flag in an alternating pattern and is visible from both sides of the note. The thread glows green when illuminated by ultraviolet light.

What color does a counterfeit pen turn? A counterfeit pen reacts to the starch found in most types of paper. Genuine U.S. currency is printed on paper that does not have starch. Therefore, if the bill is genuine, the ink will turn yellow and if it's fake, the ink will turn black or dark blue.

A real $100 bill has a security thread embedded vertically on the left-hand side of the portrait. "It should read 'USA 100' and glow pink under UV light," Amishav told Newsweek. The thread is visible from both the front and back of the note, says the U.S. Currency Education Program.

The Secret Service and U.S. Treasury do not recommend relying solely on a counterfeit-detection pen of the kind that you often see clerks use in stores. These pens can only indicate whether the note is printed on the wrong kind of paper (they simply react to the presence of starch).

No – detector pens don't spot counterfeits printed on polymer. Should I use a banknote checking machine? All of our notes can be authenticated by look, tilt and feel. If you choose to use a machine to check banknotes, make sure it can spot the latest counterfeit notes.

Do counterfeit pens work on 1950 bills? ›

Question: Would a counterfeit pen work on a ten dollar bill from 1950? Answer: No, because the linen content of the bills has changed since the 1950s.

These counterfeit money pens contain a special chemical solution that does not react on paper money but does react on conventional paper. When you mark a counterfeit bill, the ink changes color and warns you that the bill is suspicious. This counterfeit marker can be used for paper banknotes (e.g. USD, EUR).

What does it mean when clerks mark the $100 bill with a yellow marker? They are checking to see if the bill shows black or yellow. Black means it is a fake bill; yellow proves it to be real.

If a Reserve Bank detects counterfeit or unlawfully altered currency or coin in DI deposits, the Reserve Bank forwards that currency or coin to the Secret Service, and the DI's Reserve account is charged for the difference.