Counterfeiters already rolling out bogus $20 bills, authorities say

Sac Bee ^ | 11/8/03 | Jim Suhr - AP

[NormsRevenge]

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Only a month since the rollout of retooled $20 bills meant to thwart counterfeiters, authorities say a Missouri woman has joined a growing list of people trying to cash in with knockoffs of the colorized currency.

[Timesink]

You have to be pretty stupid to try to pass counterfeits of the new bills at a time when the vast majority of $20 bills out there remain the old kind.

[Maelstrom]

I'm not so sure.

People know the new ones are out there, but aren't sure what they look like.

One thing that is indisputeable is that frequently changing currency guarantees that it will be devalued in the international market.

It's been ongoing for more than a decade. What is the purpose in purposefully and unnecessarily devaluing US currency by the US government?

[dogbyte12]

Once you get used to a currency, you subconsciously are aware of anything that is slightly off. This is absolutely the perfect time to pass bills in a busy environment. A slight imperfection would be less noticeable by somebody who has only seen a few of the real ones.

[BlueString]

Actually I would think this would be a good time to do it, since people have had very little experience with the new bills, tell-tale signs of a forgery might not be noticed.

But anyway, I'm glad we queered up our money for no good reason. Just make America apart of the Eurozone if you want our money to look like that trash, but don't Euroize the damn dollar!

[Timesink]

Actually I would think this would be a good time to do it, since people have had very little experience with the new bills, tell-tale signs of a forgery might not be noticed.

Yeah, I guess you both might be right on that.

[I_love_weather]

This is always the perfect time to put out fake bills...same thing happened in Europe with all of their new currency.

Nobody would know the difference...

[Wonder Warthog]

"One thing that is indisputeable is that frequently changing currency guarantees that it will be devalued in the international market. It's been ongoing for more than a decade. What is the purpose in purposefully and unnecessarily devaluing US currency by the US government?"

And exactly HOW is putting a couple of new colors on the $20 bill supposed to "devalue it in the international market", pray tell?? The two older-style bills are still in circulation and are still legal tender of equivalent value to the new bills.

[StatesEnemy]

And exactly HOW is putting a couple of new colors on the $20 bill supposed to "devalue it in the international market", pray tell?? The two older-style bills are still in circulation and are still legal tender of equivalent value to the new bills.

Well... turning it pastel pink and blue certainly makes it effeminate.

[holymoly]

"Fake $20s passed throughout Hart" (Michigan)

[Yardstick]

Tiny number 20s are printed on the back of the notes in yellow.

I got my first new twenty from an ATM last night. My first thought was boy, this thing is busy. It's like a three-ring circus compared to the old twenty, especially the old old twenty. There are multiple colors, water marks, embedded strips, shiny color-changing digits, colored threads, and the swarm of tiny "20"s mentioned in the quote. It reminds me of a fast-edit MTV blipvert, or an audacious late-70's Camaro with all the scoops and spoilers and graphics.

Actually, now that I think about it, the old bills had a lot of details, too. They were just of a different sort. The detail was in the cross-hatching the thousands of tiny lines within the swirls and geometric designs, holly berries and veined leaves, ornate tassles and fringes and that sort of thing. I guess that kind of detail sufficed back when counterfeiters actually had to engrave the plates themselves by hand -- just imagine recreating the meticulous web pattern in the outer backround of a one dollar bill (not that anyone would counterfeit a one dollar bill, it's just that it's the only bill I had handy to look at!). But in the age of scanners and laser printers, that tactic no longer works -- it's a relic of our pre-digital past -- so now we see these newfangled colors and other tricky things on our bills.

[boris]

What I can't figure out is why they replaced Andy Jackson's picture with one of Christopher Lee.

--Boris

[null and void]

It's been ongoing for more than a decade. What is the purpose in purposefully and unnecessarily devaluing US currency by the US government?

Puts pressure on out trading "partners", like China for example, makes our products cheaper there, and theirs more expensive here.

Pay off the debt with hyperinflated dollars.

Pay "entitlements" with hyper inflated dollars. I'm confident I'll get back every penny I've put in Social Security - a hamburger may cost $3500.00, but I'll get every penny...

As a bonus we'll all be millionaires...

[null and void]

For me the most interesting thing is the storm clouds over the White House...

[Fizzie]

I am in agreement with most of the posters on this thread that NOW is the time to pass counterfeit bills. Who really knows what's real? I received a new $20 recently, and it looked like a $20 that had been through the wash and bled like an old madras shirt. How could I know if it was legitimate?

According to the Federal Reserve, in 2002 the cost of currency (printing, transportation and destruction of old currency) was over $450 million. The $47MM of counterfeit bills that got into circulation in 2001 is a drop in the bucket, compared to the cost of issuing new bills, and the cost of every business having to accommodate the new bills.
Think of the software and hardware upgrades to all the bill acceptors on vending machines, change machines etc. etc.

I have never understood the rationale of frequently changing our currency under the guise of "preventing counterfeiting." The cost/benefit analysis is way out of whack.

[billbears]

What is the purpose in purposefully and unnecessarily devaluing US currency by the US government?

What? You didn't figure they had run out of ways to waste our tax money yet did you? Besides this and the 'new' nickels, I read $32 million is being spent on publicity and ads for the new $20. Just a good thing they've still got ways. Else they might actually have to tax less. And Lord knows we can't have that!!

[Yardstick]

I only had a few minutes to look at the new twenty before I spent it on a cheeseburger, so I missed seeing that interesting detail. Could it be a subliminal message?

[null and void]

Think of the software and hardware upgrades to all the bill acceptors on vending machines, change machines etc. etc.

I have never understood the rationale of frequently changing our currency under the guise of "preventing counterfeiting." The cost/benefit analysis is way out of whack.

Think of the jobs created with the upgrades...

[meenie]

A considerable savings could be realized by letting everybody print their own money for their expenses. That is the way the Federal government does it in conjunction with the Federal Reserve. Alan and George say that is what is bringing our country out of recession. Imagine the prosperity we could all enjoy with unlimited counterfeiting.

[null and void]

Could be. It is a mirror of the current situation...