Theme exhibition entitled “Counterfeits”, features a selection of domestic and foreign banknote originals and counterfeits. The visitors to this exhibition will be afforded an opportunity to compare the originals and the counterfeits, and to get acquainted with banknote security features in order to reduce the risk of coming into possession of counterfeits. The exhibited “super dollar”, a 100-dollar banknote, and the “super euro”, a 200-dollar banknote, indicate to what extent technological development has contributed to the upgrading of counterfeits and added to the difficulty of their being recognized as such.
The National Bank of Serbia has been using state-of-the-art technology in terms of banknote protection against counterfeiting.
New dinar banknotes contain a combination of security features, some of which cannot be seen by the naked eye. A result of this is a series of banknotes extremely well protected against counterfeiting and, at the same time, easy to check.
The main visible security features in a banknote that people should look at are: the intaglio printing technique, watermark, security thread, see-through register, kinegram and colour-shifting ink feature .
In everyday use, when you receive a banknote, you should always check for several of the security features in order to ensure that the banknote is genuine by applying the following four tests: FEEL, LOOK and TILT.
The intaglio printing as a technique against counterfeiting gives to some banknote elements a relief effect perceptible to the touch. The tactile effect is especially useful for the blind and partially sighted.
The intaglio technique is used in printing banknotes in denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 dinars. In particular, you can feel the inscription “Narodna banka Srbije”, or “Narodna banka Jugoslavije”, the portrait, mark for blind and partially sighted in the upper left-hand corner and several graphic elements.
When you move the banknote from side to side, you can see the shifting image on the kinegram and the motif printed in colour-shifting inks changes colour. The front of 200, 500, 1000 and 5000-dinar banknotes features the kinegram.
As you move the banknote from side to side, you can see the shifting image. The 1000 and 5000-dinar banknotes are additionally protected by the colour-shifting ink feature. When viewed at an angle, the motif changes colours from purple to green.
When the banknote is held up to the light, the watermark, the security thread and the see-through register must be visible. All dinar banknotes have the watermark and the security thread. They are embedded in the paper during paper production. The watermark is visible on both sides of the same unprinted part of the banknote; it is a drawing in the shape of a portrait featured on the banknote and it varies in hue.
The security thread, that contains a micro lettering written both in Cyrillic and Latin alphabet, goes along the entire width of the banknote. You can also check the authenticity of a banknote by finding the see-through register – an irregular geometric figure printed partially on the front and the back of the banknote, which, when held up to light, forms a complete figure.
Upon getting into possession of a US dollar banknote , special attention should be given to banknote security features such as the paper quality, security features embedded in the paper, the paper itself, the look of printed motifs, serial numbers, etc.
US dollar counterfeits are usually printed on unsecured paper freely available in the market. In most counterfeits, paper is toned after the printing i.e. after the forging of security features such as watermark and security thread, for the purpose of covering up the forgery and making the shade of paper similar to that of the original.
Paper is significantly softer and thinner, it has no characteristic sound of elasticity and resistance to wear and tear, while the printed part is gentle to the touch due to the fact that counterfeits are mostly printed in offset technique. As opposed to smaller printed pieces in the original banknotes, those in counterfeits are blurry and vague.
