How can you tell if a $100 bill is counterfeit?

Hold the bill up to a light to check for a watermark. A watermark bearing the image of the person whose portrait is on the bill can be found on all $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills series 1996 and later, and on $5 bills series 1999 and later.
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How do you tell if a 100$ bill is real?

Look for the security thread.

A $100 bill printed after 1990 should have a security thread on the left-hand side that is only visible when you hold the bill up to the light. The words "USA" and "100" should alternate on the thread. If you hold the bill up to UV light, then the thread glows pink.
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How can you tell if a bill is counterfeit?

How to Spot Counterfeit Money
  1. Hold a bill up to a light and look for a hologram showing an image that matches the face of the individual on the bill. Both images should match. ...
  2. Looking at the bill through a light will also reveal a thin vertical strip containing text that spells out the bill's denomination.
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Do all $100 bills have blue strips?

It's actually part of a security feature designed to help tell real $100s from fake ones. Tilt the bill, and designs along the strip change from bells -- as in, Liberty Bells -- to the number "100," in moving patterns. In fact, the blue ribbon has nothing to do with printing -- it's actually woven onto to the paper.
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What color do fake 100 bills turn?

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.
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How to Tell if a $100 Bill is REAL or FAKE



Do all 100 dollar bills have a strip in them?

Examining Security Features. Hold the bill up to the light. For all bills except $1 and $2 dollar bills, there should be a security thread (plastic strip) running from top to bottom. The thread is embedded in (not printed on) the paper and runs vertically through the clear field to the left of the Federal Reserve Seal.
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What five main characteristics of currency should you examine when looking for counterfeit bills?

8 ways to tell if the bill is fake
  • Texture. Genuine money has a distinctive texture. ...
  • Colored fibers. Genuine bills will have red and blue threads woven into them. ...
  • Color-shifting ink. ...
  • The watermark. ...
  • Serial number. ...
  • Printing. ...
  • Security thread. ...
  • Security ribbon.
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What color is the strip in $100 bill?

Step 3: The Security Strip

The thread in a $100 bill glows pink when illuminated by ultraviolet light (UV). It is present in most of the US bills (excluding the small-denomination $2 and $1 bills), old and new, and is the primary security feature used by Money Counters and Bill Checkers to identify fakes.
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What two things should you do if you receive counterfeit bills?

Contact your local police department or United States Secret Service field office. These numbers can be found on the inside front page of your local telephone directory. Write your initials and the date in the white border areas of the suspect note. Limit the handling of the note.
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What are the security features on a 100 dollar bill?

Hold the note to light to see an embedded thread running vertically to the left of the portrait. The thread is imprinted with the letters USA and the numeral 100 in an alternating pattern and is visible from both sides of the note. The thread glows pink when illuminated by ultraviolet light.
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What color does fake money burn?

The pen reacts to starch contained in most paper sold around the world. Real U.S. currency paper does not contain starch. So if the bill is real, the ink turns yellow. But if it's fake, it will turn a dark blue or black.
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Does Fake money glow under black light?

The placement is different for each denomination, and the thread glows a unique color under an ultraviolet light, or black light. The thread in a $5 bill will glow blue, a $20-bill thread glows green, and a $100 bill is seen in pinkunder the UV light. “If it doesn't glow, it isn't real,” Taylor said.
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How can you tell if cash is real?

Check the foil is gold and blue on the front of the note and silver on the back. Look for a second, smaller window in the bottom corner of the note. A silver foil patch contains a 3D image of the coronation crown. You will find this above the main see‑through window on the front of the note.
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What kind of paper is used for counterfeit money?

This kind of paper is known as rag paper. One big advantage of using rag paper is the fact that it does not disintegrate if you accidentally run paper money through a washing machine. The paper used for money is thin compared to normal paper.
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Does a real 100 bill have a blue line?

Blue line is for security, not tracking

The blue line on the $100 bill is a 3D security ribbon designed to differentiate real $100 bills from fake ones, according to Teresa Fynes, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
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Will a bank replace a counterfeit bill?

Will my bank replace fake money? Banks can, at their discretion, replace fake money received by their customers, but they are unlikely to do so. It makes little difference where the counterfeit came from — a store, an individual, or an ATM. In most cases, you'll end up writing off the loss.
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Can an ATM detect counterfeit money?

Cash inserted into bank ATM cartridges comes directly from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has its own counterfeit detection measures, says Shirley Inscoe, a senior analyst at Aite Group, a Boston-based financial industry market research firm.
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What happens if a bank gives you a counterfeit bill?

The banks use their counterfeit currency detection measures and technologies to determine whether or not the note is genuine. Any fake money encountered is confiscated, and the Secret Service is called in. This keeps the counterfeit money out of circulation.
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Does new 100 bill have strip?

New $100 bill has three-dimensional blue strip with images that appear to move when the note is tilted, and an image of a copper inkwell with a holographic bell that changes color.
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Can a counterfeit pen be wrong?

Counterfeit detection pens are not always accurate and may give you false results. To learn about these and other security features in genuine Federal Reserve notes, visit the U.S. Currency Education Program website.
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Do counterfeit pens work on new 100 bills?

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.
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