From: thug@phantom.com (Murdering Thug)
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 93 13:05:52 PDT
To: eb@srlr14.sr.hp.com (Eric Blossom)
Subject: Re: Tracing Cash
In-Reply-To: <9307301948.AA00433@srlr14.sr.hp.com>
Message-ID: <m0oM0ij-0009ExC@mindvox.phantom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text


Eric Blossom writes:
> 
> Murdering Thug writes:
>
> > BTW, cash can be traced even without bar codes, since serial numbers can
> > be read by OCR.  
> 
> The few $50 and $100 bills I've looked at over the past year or so
> have had a light colored vertical stripe on them that was slightly raised
> above the surface of the paper and had *small* numbers on it.  
> 
> Seems like it was designed to make counterfeiting harder and money
> easier to trace.

It used to be that just $50 and $100 bills had that vertical stripe, but now
it has reached $10 and $20 bills as well.  Also, notice the small text
around the border of the portrait of the bill, this small text can't be
copied too well with color copiers.  However, what is printed on the
stripe is not a serial number, but "USA TEN USA TEN..." on $10 bills, and
similarly USA TWENTY for $20, USA FIFTY for $50...

There are big time rumors about the vertical stripe embedded in the paper
though.  The government says it's for making counterfeiting more
difficult, but how come they just didn't use a watermark like they do on
the new postal money orders? A watermark is far more difficult to forge
than an embedded stripe, although anyone who has knowledge of making his
own paper knows that both are quite easy to do.  A rumor however has it
that the vertical stripe is a tracer material, and emits a distinguishing
signal when exposed to radiation or certain RF signals.  The use of such a
stripe could be used to catch people who try to bring large amounts of
cash past U.S. Customs without declaring it.  Thus cash would show up on
these detectors as easily as an Colt .45 does in an X-ray of your baggage.


Thug