# Urban Legend: Fake Dollar Bills **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2015, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881 "2015-11-07T07:08:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/1 "2015-11-07T07:08:26Z")
I am so tired of hearing friends and acquaintances claiming a dollar bill (US) is fake because it glows in black light. I explain to them to look at the printing date. They are always about 6-8 years old from printing date and explain it is the linen/paper they use now and that you see a lot of them since $1 bills are recycled much more than $20 or $100 bills. Can someone show me a site that conveys this easily? The US Mint doesn’t seem to have one. Only YouTube videos by idiots who cite those as example. Help is appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/2 "2015-11-07T11:04:53Z")
You’re both wrong. US Currency is still made by the Crane Paper Company and it is still 100% cotton paper. US currency is made from new cotton, never laundered. When new, currency does not fluoresce under black light, except for the printed fluorescent bands on higher denomination currency. When used, it still doesn’t fluoresce unless someone has forgotten it in a pocket and run it through the wash using a laundry detergent with optical brighteners. That’s probably what your friends are seeing. As the bills age, the probability that they’ve taken a trip through the washer approaches one. I don’t know what you mean by $1 bills are recycled much more than $10 or $20 dollar bills. $1 bills are probably more likely to be forgotten in the pocket of your jeans. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/3 "2015-11-07T12:59:54Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Can someone show me a site that conveys this easily? The US Mint doesn’t seem to have one. US currency isn’t made by the US Mint, it comes from the [Bureau of Engraving and Printing](http://www.moneyfactory.gov/uscurrency/1note.html). ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/4 "2015-11-07T13:32:12Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > US currency isn’t made by the US Mint, it comes from the [Bureau of Engraving and Printing](http://www.moneyfactory.gov/uscurrency/1note.html). No, it’s made by the Crane Paper Company. All the Bureau of Engraving and Printing does is put the pictures on it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/5 "2015-11-07T14:01:26Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > No, it’s made by the Crane Paper Company. All the Bureau of Engraving and Printing does is put the pictures on it. Which is what distinguishes currency from paper. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/6 "2015-11-07T14:34:28Z")
But it’s the paper that’s relevant here, not the printing on it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/7 "2015-11-07T16:03:39Z")
There’s just not much appeal in counterfeiting small denominations. Clerks get suspicious if you pay for a TV with 200 new dollar bills, whether they glow in black light or not. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/8 "2015-11-07T17:11:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But it’s the paper that’s relevant here, not the printing on it. Not when the OP laments the absence of an explanation from the US Mint. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/9 "2015-11-07T18:13:33Z")
I always use up all my glowing bills on the dancers before I use the non glowing ones. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/10 "2015-11-07T19:24:52Z")
The Crane Paper Co does make many high quality papers from 100% cotton. Except for the US money, which is made from 75% cotton and 25% linen. On my phone or I could supply many cites. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/11 "2015-11-07T20:07:00Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > On my phone or I could supply many cites. > **[Anatomy of a $100 Bill](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/anatomy-bill/)** > > See how currency designers at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing revamped the Franklin to thwart counterfeiters. > [@](#): > > Is it really ‘paper’ in the traditional sense? There are no wood fibers or starch in currency paper. Instead, like high quality stationery, currency paper is composed of a special blend of cotton and linen fibers. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/12 "2015-11-07T20:21:23Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > … I don’t know what you mean by $1 bills are recycled much more than $10 or $20 dollar bills. $1 bills are probably more likely to be forgotten in the pocket of your jeans. I suspect he means $1s are more heavily handled and therefore don’t last as long as $20s do. As such the supply of $1s turns over more quickly as the bills are worn out and removed from service. IOW, IMO “recycled” was a poor choice of words when he really meant “replaced”. Although why he would think that a short life and rapid turnover cause a UV glow is a mystery to me. Unless he’s thinking the UV glow is a recently introduced anti-counterfeiting feature and would therefore more commonly be seen on $1s than $20s since $1s are on average much newer than are $20s. In any case you’ve got the right answer: laundry detergent adds a UV glow to anything that’s been washed. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/13 "2015-11-07T20:49:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I suspect he means $1s are more heavily handled and therefore don’t last as long as $20s do. As such the supply of $1s turns over more quickly as the bills are worn out and removed from service. IOW, IMO “recycled” was a poor choice of words when he really meant “replaced”. > > Although why he would think that a short life and rapid turnover cause a UV glow is a mystery to me. Unless he’s thinking the UV glow is a recently introduced anti-counterfeiting feature and would therefore more commonly be seen on $1s than $20s since $1s are on average much newer than are $20s. > > In any case you’ve got the right answer: laundry detergent adds a UV glow to anything that’s been washed. I used “recycled” thinking some of the old bills went into making the same paper/linen combo. Hey, I like to think positively. 😉 What I thought was that the entire bill on NEWLY issued bills reflected in UV light because all the bills I’ve seen glow have been from 2006 or newer. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/14 "2015-11-07T21:28:34Z")
If those were my friends and acquaintances, I’d tell them since the currency is fake and useless, just leave it with me and I’ll properly dispose of it. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/15 "2015-11-07T21:45:07Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > If those were my friends and acquaintances, I’d tell them since the currency is fake and useless, just leave it with me and I’ll properly dispose of it. Believe me I thought of it. 😃 I also told them they could tell the treasury department and send them the dollar bill, but probably won’t get it back. They chose to keep the dollar. So that’s something! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/urban-legend-fake-dollar-bills/736881/16 "2015-11-08T23:16:04Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > There’s just not much appeal in counterfeiting small denominations. Clerks get suspicious if you pay for a TV with 200 new dollar bills, whether they glow in black light or not. I don’t think a clerk would be suspicious at all. PO’d, yes; but, not suspicious.