Counterfeit Currency Detection: UV and Magnetic Sensors

Introduction
Before our founding fathers, counterfeit money was a major problem for the American economy. This article will provide a short history of the development of counterfeit money in the US as well as the technologies used to facilitate detection and hinder copying. These methods include of counterfeit watermark detection, magnetic counterfeit detection, and UV detection.

Early Illustrations of Fake Money
Even before paper money was used, fraudsters would tamper with various forms of money to gain an unfair advantage when exchanging goods. Native Americans have used shells known as wampum as money since the beginning of the American colonies. Blue-black shells were more valuable than white ones because of their scarcity. Because of this, some traders would dye white shells a blue-black hue and sell them as more expensive shells.

Gold or silver coins eventually took the place of shells. Small quantities of silver or gold were often clipped or shaved off of these coins. A clipper would eventually gather enough shavings to turn them into bullion. Numerous financial crises across Europe and its colonies were brought on by coin clipping. In reality, cutters had already reduced a significant part of the handcrafted coins to nearly half of their original weight by 1695. In order to stop this unlawful behavior, England started milling the edges of coins in 1662. It was much simpler to recognize a clipped coin because to these ridges. The older pieces remained in use until the century's conclusion despite these attempts.

Countering False Currency
To make up for the coin scarcity and to pay for the Civil War, the U.S. Department of the Treasury initially printed paper money in 1862. The Secret Service was established in Washington, D.C., in July 1865 to combat counterfeit money. At the time, counterfeit money made up one-third of all the country's cash. In order to counteract fake invoices, the Secret Service's formation was essential. In an effort to make contemporary counterfeiting more challenging, the US government also announced a comprehensive makeover of the country's money in 1995. High-quality printing, printed serial numbers, seals from the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury, and the use of a highly particular kind of paper with tiny red and blue fibers imbedded throughout the bill were all features of the new design.

The fake item detector pen
Nowadays, counterfeiters often forego utilizing a costly press or specialized inks to attempt to accurately replicate paper money. Instead, they try to make a fake bill that resembles the real thing sufficiently to not cause suspicion when used for regular transactions. Because these counterfeiters are not particularly careful, they often duplicate onto paper made of wood.

The pen includes an iodine solution that interacts with the starch in wood-based paper to produce a black, marker-like stain, making it one of the easiest weapons for counterfeit detection. No discoloration happens when the solution is applied to the fiber-based paper used in real banknotes. This device is helpful for spotting amateur cash forgeries. However, using a more complicated detector can be required when dealing with counterfeit money that is more advanced.

UV Currency Forgery Detection
The technique that is most often used to reveal fake currency is UV counterfeit detection. By subjecting genuine notes to ultraviolet light, a UV detector validates the UV markings on such notes. In the note manufacturing process, invisible dyes are used to provide these UV indicators. Only UV photons may see these hints. The bank note is considered to be real if the UV-printed graphics sparkle when exposed to UV light.

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