CPM Forum
Canadian Notes => Counterfeit Currency => Topic started by: Bill49 on July 20, 2009, 11:49:16 pm
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I have a bunch of them that are spenders, so my first attempt at spending one was a refusal and the cashier told me it was counterfeit which I doubted.
These bills were stored for a long time in a damp area...green spots don't seem to be visible until you hold it up to a light. Any other measures to check on them?
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1. Feel the note. Can you feel the raised intaglio printing? Can you feel the "washboard' effect of running your fingernail across the ridges of thick ink in the dark areas of the portrait?
2. Check the engraved printing. With a good magnifying glass, look at the eyes of Borden. Aside from a gleam of white in the top left, the pupils should be solid black, with crisp, sharp circles surrounding them to form the iris. All of the other engraved printing should be sharp and crisp.
3. Compare any suspect notes. If you have any notes which you believe to be suspect, compare them to others you believe to be good. A side-by-side comparison can allow you to pick out differences much quicker.
4. Look for water damage. Notes printed by an ink-jet printer are very susceptible to water damage. If even a single drop of water touches the note, the ink will run in that spot. The colours will dilute and run together. They will leak into adjacent areas. Authentic notes can be run through the laundry without any change in the printing.
5. Check the note under UV light. Under a proper UV light, the green planchettes will glow a bright cyan colour (light blue-green). Authentic notes will have glowing planchettes with sharp, well-defined edges. Counterfeit notes will have fuzzy planchettes as they are produced by adding a drop of liquid to the note and the liquid seeps into the paper and spreads out. Authentic planchettes are solid pieces of plastic.
Hope that helps
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Thank you sir! By the way, over time and the way a note was stored can the planchettes fade?
These notes were stored in a bad way.
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No, as planchettes are physical pieces of plastic, their colour will not fade. They will be just the same after 75 years as they are after 5.
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Passes 4 out of 5 of the tests....need to find my blacklight kit to check the planchettes that is the thing that is bothering me, I can see them when I hold it up to light but the green has faded, I believe we are talking about the same thing...planchettes are the small green dots at random spots on the note? I remember as a kid peeling them off....
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I remember as a kid peeling them off....
So I wasn't the only one ;D
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You did that too Huh? Now I wonder if that is something most of us collectors have in common.
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We were rebels..... ;D
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They are all good...phew!
It would have been a nice grab by CTC manager thinking it was counterfeit and it wasn't...cashier told me they usually call the police in....then I showed her my tin.... ;D
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Any luck spending them in the last few weeks, Bill? You can do all the authenticating you want, but I can see cashiers still refusing them.
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I have some birds of canada series bills that i think may be counterfeits. The planchettes glow and peel off. But the thing that concerns me is that the fpn and the bpn are in some cases different sizes and fonts even. The bills that i have are all in very good condition and some of them dont seem to have the washboard effect. Oh yes, and two of them are smaller than the others. Any tips guys?
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Can you read the microprinting with perfect clarity? Compare it to a note you are 100% confident is real. Look at the fine line patterns in the blank areas near the corners. Look at the detail of the parliament building. Look at the detail in the portrait and the coat of arms.
Do the planchettes glow with a crisp edge, or a fuzzy edge? Does the paper feel like a regular note? Does the OSD change from gold to green? What are the serial numbers of the notes? Are the fonts of the serial numbers correct? Is the prefix valid? Does it accurately correspond with the signatures on the front?
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9 times out of ten, this combo works:
a) prefix may be non compliant
b) get the note wet. Color will run.
= Fake.