Banknote Detective Work - Pathology

[MMMM]

What techniques do you use to tell if a banknote has been cleaned or pressed or altered?

[Dave]

I’m not an expert, but here’s what I know from experience and reading elsewhere:

 

If I suspect a note, I usually check using simple visual inspection techniques. While one indication is often enough to make a decision, often times you need an aggregate of indications to tell if it’s been doctored.

 

Looking at the note under incandescent light and also with fluorescent and natural lights are all fine, and I haven’t found anything that wasn’t detectable under any of the light sources.

 

I look at the notes front and reverse as it lies on a table top. If the note has a noticeable crease, but lies flat, then there might be more to the story.

 

I hold the note up to the light source and view front and back this way. Often times you can see tell-tell signs that indicate creases and folds that were once more noticeable. Viewing the reverse of many notes this way seems to reveal more than the front for some reason.

 

Run your fingers lightly over the design. On most notes there will be some embossing from the ink or in some cases even paper embossing. Newer notes from several countries will have the raised ink or dots to aid the blind. If these are not raised, or seem less than they should be, it could be an indication that it’s been pressed.

 

Pressed between pages of heavy books will cause the embossing to decrease while removing some slight bends. Notes pressed with an Iron will sometimes have a discoloration to the paper as well. I’ve read about others ironing a note under a damp cloth to avoid this, but have no idea how it works out. Heavy bends or creases usually show up when viewed against a light no matter the method used.

 

Cleaned notes can look brighter than normal, depending on the methods used. I’ve seen some that were cleaned poorly and some that were cleaned professionally that were undetectable (at least for now – who knows what 20 years from now will do). A nice clean looking note that seems to have faded colors will likely be cleaned harshly. Paper that seems ‘fuzzy’ is an indicator that a toothbrush or similar device has been used.

 

Spot cleaning will often leave a visible cleaner area than the rest of the note. Using a black light will show spot cleaning. While there are some notes that have a bright white paper shine from the black light, most do not. If you run across one that is, you should compare it with other similar notes. I’ve been on both ends to verify this with photos via email. In both cases, the notes checked out with others and were deemed to be genuine, and note cleaned, so just because it looks off isn’t a sure indication – just one to look into further.

 

Altered notes – I haven’t done much, but I know that you should look at fancy serial numbers obliquely to see if there is an indication that they’ve been redone. Also, if it’s an error note, such as a missing print, or grossly misaligned printed seal, etc. you should check the area it would be printed on normally to see if there’s any indications – use black light, visible lights, and you can change the image on a computer to a negative, etc. to help as well.

 

There are many things, but all in all it takes a little work on a suspect note and those that I’ve detected were pretty easy. Fortunately I’ve only had a couple of notes that were suspect and were pressed and sold at a higher grade… but at a reasonable price nonetheless.

[MMMM]

Thank you Dave very good advice.

[Saor Alba]

I have to add, you have to sniff notes too. Before you you need to take into account that cleaning agents will leave a telltale smell - lots of notes from the Far East have been chemically treated and will smell accordingy

[MMMM]

I have to add, you have to sniff notes too. Before you you need to take into account that cleaning agents will leave a telltale smell - lots of notes from the Far East have been chemically treated and will smell accordingy

 

Doing too much of that may not be very healthy. It may not even be legal in the US. Sort of like sniffing glue or cocaine. ... Then again for US money, it probably is exactly like sniffing cocaine.

[Saor Alba]

Doing too much of that may not be very healthy. It may not even be legal in the US. Sort of like sniffing glue or cocaine. ... Then again for US money, it probably is exactly like sniffing cocaine.

 

 

Then there is a report to the news today about BHA - a hazardous chemical from sales receipts that often gets on dollar bills when given in change. I have heard that 90% of $100 bills in Florida have traces of the White Witch on them.

[Dave M]

Wonderful post, Dave.

 

I will add that from an eBay perspective, it seems the trend is to mask such manipulations by increasing the brightness of the images displayed. They're dead easy to spot. I'm not how many folks get suckered in to buy, as they don't look at all realistic. Here's an example I just ran into this morning. The color makes no sense for a 100 year old note, and you can still see the folds on the back side.

 

Dave

[Saor Alba]

Wonderful post, Dave.

 

I will add that from an eBay perspective, it seems the trend is to mask such manipulations by increasing the brightness of the images displayed. They're dead easy to spot. I'm not how many folks get suckered in to buy, as they don't look at all realistic. Here's an example I just ran into this morning. The color makes no sense for a 100 year old note, and you can still see the folds on the back side.

 

Dave

 

 

A fine example of cranking up the brightness settings in the imaging software. Otherwise, if the note is too clean from it's chemically induced scrubbing, you can crank the brightness down.

[William Travis Focker]

Haha, that ebay guy is the same one selling the Rhodesia note I posted in the other thread. Saor warned me off on that one so I drastically reduced my bid on the assumption that the note was overgraded. Didn't even come close to winning, but better to miss a good deal than get a bad one.

[Saor Alba]

Haha, that ebay guy is the same one selling the Rhodesia note I posted in the other thread. Saor warned me off on that one so I drastically reduced my bid on the assumption that the note was overgraded. Didn't even come close to winning, but better to miss a good deal than get a bad one.

 

 

PM on somethings I saw elsewhere on the way.