\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Since you dont want to alienate loyal customers who happen to have a genuine, yet older bill, you should take the time to learn about the design features and their changes over time. Store the suspect counterfeit apart from genuine currency and release it as soon as possible to law enforcement authorities. Ive personally even had problems at my local bank when trying to deposit old paper money with them. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. This article has been viewed 1,521,050 times. The only security feature that exists on these types of notes is raised printing. The check letter should be an uppercase letter A-H, inclusive, and the quadrant number should be a number 1-4, inclusive, $1: Series 1963; $1 (Silver Certificates): Series 1935G, $2: Series 1976; $2 (United States Note): Series 1963. The most reliable method of determining if a 1934 dollar bill is real is to look for tiny red and blue threads. If you cannot feel the raised printing on the bill, it doesnt necessarily mean the bill is counterfeit - considering old bills may be worn down enough that the raised printing may have become less discernable - but it does mean that you should check all the other design features mentioned on this list. Its strange, youd think a bill from the 1800s would always be more valuable than one from the 1900s. Make sure it doesnt feel like your printer paper or it probably is. Depending on the Series year of a bill, you can determine, at least, whether or not a Note Position exists for that Series. The sheer amount of realistic counterfeit money finally prompted the government to redesign U.S. currency to include more security features, in order to make it hard to passably reproduce. "I found the step-by-step instructions most helpful. This allows us to pay you more money than anyone else. Security features on banknotes are characteristics that are intentionally hard to reproduce. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Older bills used microprinting as a security feature. The note pictured above is what collectors call a green seal numeral typefederal reserve note. You can find your local office at this website. There are three components that have given the structure for the U.S. currency system as we know it today: Although the United States had been a country for close to a century at the time, the federal government didnt officially start printing paper money (notes) until 1861, in order to fund the Civil War that had just begun without raising taxes. If you look at the 100 in the bottom right-hand corner, you should notice that it shifts from green to black as you move the bill back and forth. Each bill should be exactly 6.14 in x 2.61 in if a bill is any other size, then its counterfeit. Raised printing is exactly what it sounds like: printing that is raised. State police Trooper Steve Limani compares a counterfeit $100 bill (bottom) with a genuine $100 bill (top). A popular option is the AccuBanker D63 Compact. They could be completely innocent. If you hold the bill up to UV light, then the strip should glow pink. Sometimes, when a counterfeiter changes some design features to make a stack of counterfeit bills less suspicious (since no real bill looks exactly like another consider the serial number), he or she may inadvertently change a design feature that does not fit the Series year. The most successful counterfeiters will bleach real money and then print over it. 1. FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE should appear at the top of every bill. [13] 4 Check microprinting. I remember growing up whenever Id get spare change back I would always check for old dates. Use an ultraviolet (black) light to look at security threads. A lot of people are oftentimes skeptical due to the lack of security features old bills have. If I found a $100 bill that is 100 years old, would it still be worth $100 today? Accordingly, most of the older bills should be out of circulation by now. Another feature to look for on a real 100 dollar bill is the Franklin hologram which is located on the front/right. People may be willing to spend more money on a bill thats popular regardless if they are common and in poor condition. The value of these notes relies heavily on the state and issuing bank. The second step is to feel the paper. X There are a total of twelve possible Federal Reserve Banks; their corresponding letters are listed below. Tilt the note to see the numeral 100 in the lower right corner of the front of the note . Summary. Its good to know this typically only matters with lower value items. The number that corresponds to each Federal Reserve Bank and its letter is listed below. Looking for information on how to authenticate newer banknotes? The first step is making sure you arent dealing with a low-quality fake bill that was run through a printer. The back place number indicates the particular printing plate that was used to produce the back of the bill and is located near the lower right corner of the back of the bill. How can you tell if an old 100 dollar bill is real? If someone is using several older bills this may be something to take note of and double-check their authenticity. The rarity of these types of instances means it is much more efficient to have the Treasury or financial institution authenticate the note than to authenticate the note yourself. To see this, tilt the note and look at the bell in the "Inkwell" and the large numeral "100" in the lower right corner of the front of the note. This modern technology allowed counterfeiters to easily and quickly produce enormous amounts of counterfeit money that was incredibly similar to real money, considering the only security feature was raised printing. See the dark green numbers on the top-left and top-right corners? As mentioned above, raised printing basically existed as a security feature since 1862, when the Treasury first started issuing paper money. You can also hold the bill up to a light to see if it's real. You could have the rarest 1853 $100 bill in the world but if theres no demand in the market, it wont be worth much. The most common "counterfeits" we see are actually just modern reproductions made to look old. If you have a newer 100 dollar bill with a blue ribbon on it, move the paper back and forth at an angle. In 2014, the BEP began printing $1 notes on 50-subject sheets. Another watermark to look for while holding the bill up to the light is the portrait of Franklin on the right-hand side. What do I do to get reimbursed for a fake one hundred dollar bill? No bills issued in 1956 and earlier have this motto and all bills that were issued as Series 1963B or later have this motto. Uncirculated bills with a grade of MS 63 can sell for around $35. As mentioned above, this became the official size of the bill starting with Series 1928. 2. The 20 dollar bill is designed with two main features to look for in avoiding counterfeit bills.