Checking Bank Notes For Forgeries

Top_Dog

What are the different ways that you can check a Bank note to see if it is not a forgery ?

Rebchappers

Feel the paper... is it particularly thick or thin? The ink should be consistent, serial numbers should match (front and back) There should be a watermark of some kind which is visible when held up to the light, there should be a holographic insert of some kind and a foil dotted line that runs down the note. If you slightly tear the note where the foil is, you should see the foil running THROUGH the note and just stuck on it (hope this makes sense!)
Also, if you have access to a UV light, there should be no traces of UV on the note.

Generally, you can tell by just the feel of the note, but if you are concerned, take it into a bank/building society and they should be able to check for you

Hope this helps

latecomer

Its been a few years since I handled a lot of cash but the couple I did see you could tell almost immediately by the feel of it. Standard checks of watermarks etc as suggested above are always a good plan too.

juno

Run your finger over the "Bank of England" bit in black letters at the top. Real notes have raised bobbly bits. Fake notes also feel "wrong". The one I had felt like glossy photo paper.

isofa

You can buy a counterfeit pen to draw on the note to check the paper type, UV lights are also commonly used, as Redchappers mentions.

Have a look at the products from Crime Prevention Products.

Also read the training notes here, on how to check for a forgery.

Top_Dog

The reason why i asked this question is because i have got a lot of money which i am going to deposit in my bank and to the best of my knowledge it is all real money ..... if a few of the notes do turn out to be forgeries what will the bank staff do ? will they just hand the forgery back to me or will they contact the police

alanq

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/security/index.htm