# I saw my first counterfeit bill

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-my-first-counterfeit-bill/482140>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 20, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-my-first-counterfeit-bill/482140 "2009-01-20T15:46:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![twit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twit)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-my-first-counterfeit-bill/482140/41 "2009-01-22T13:06:52Z")

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> [@clayton\_e](#):
>
> Really? What was the tipoff that they’re fake? I always assumed from the official remarks about them that they’re practically impossible to tell apart from the real deal.

Very, very small details. That and the fact that the paper it was printed on was a bit too slick. As for the details, there are a few small messups. The one I can see every time is this: Look at the right half of a new series $100 bill to the first N in United States of America. The upper gap in the N should be all black. In the supernote, there is a little sliver of white in there.

Besides this, sometimes the notes seem just a little bright in light. Also, the serial numbers aren’t always even – one number is higher or lower than the the one next to it. Also, the thickness of the lines making up the serial number can be uneven too.

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