Yes, You Can Get Stuck With a Counterfeit Bill From Your Bank

Most people think that they could never get counterfeit money at their bank. They are wrong. Banks do not always check their bills for counterfeit before distributing them. Most banks use automatic money counter machines that check for fake bills during the counting process, but not always. If they get busy or if their machine malfunctions, fake bills can be circulated. Once you walk away from the teller’s window you are stuck with any fake bills that they may have given you.

This is a true story:  A woman stopped at her local branch bank after work to cash her paycheck. She then went to the local grocery store and tried to pay for her items using the money she just received at her bank. An alert clerk caught a fake one hundred dollar bill. Since she knew she had just received the bill from her bank, she returned to the bank with the fake bill. This is where it got interesting. Her bank not only refused to replace the bill but also confiscated the bill. There was no proof that the bill was actually one of the bills that the bank had given her and the United States Treasury requires the bank to confiscate any counterfeit bills.

You need to take certain precautions to make sure that you do not get stuck with fake money whether from your bank or from anywhere else.  Any time you receive large bills from anyone, you need to take the time to examine each bill carefully before walking away. If you are in the bank you have the right to ask the teller to run the money through their counterfeit detector. If you are in a retail store you need to examine the watermark and UV strip on each bill carefully before you step away. If you receive large bills from an individual you need to also ask for and examine proper identification.

The one hundred dollar bill is the most common bill to be counterfeited. Some people feel it best to simply avoid one hundred dollar bills entirely and always ask for something smaller. This is a legitimate strategy if you feel that you cannot determine the validity of bills manually. Do not depend on felt tip counterfeit detection markers, as they are easily fooled by the counterfeiters.  Another safer alternative is to use debit or credit cards as much as possible, thus avoiding larger cash transactions. Being aware and being careful could keep you from being stuck with fake money. For more information on money counters and counterfeit detectors visit our websitecount-money.com

Money Counter Rental Makes Sense

The decision to rent a money counter may seem simple but it is not. If your business handles cash you probably already own one or more money counting machines. You know that currency counters not only save time but increase accuracy. You might have periodic trade shows or sales events that require cash handling equipment. You need to decide whether to try to pack up your money counter and take it with you,  or  rent a machine on-site. In almost all cases renting is the best alternative for several reasons.

Packing and shipping is a major issue. If you take your equipment with you,  you will need to properly pack it and ship it so that it will arrive on time and in working condition. Money counting equipment is very sensitive and subject to losing calibration or shipping damage. Rental companies know how to properly pack and ship your machine so that it will operate properly when it arrives. They also will test and calibrate you equipment prior to shipping it to the rental site.

Something else to think about is that if you bring your equipment on the road,  how will your business be able to function without it while it is out of the office?  Why should the main office need to go without the use of the equipment?

If you need to handle several locations at once, renting is the only way to go. We had a major bank that was running a charity coin collection in over 100 cities at once. They needed to rent coin counters for all 100 locations during the same week. Renting was their best choice.

Renting is also a great way for you to try out newer models and features. Currency counting equipment is expensive and is constantly evolving with new features and functions. If you rent you have a chance to try out all the latest and greatest features without a capital investment.

Another important consideration in your decision to buy or rent is accounting. Renting is an operating expense and is treated differently than purchasing, which is a capital expense. For tax purposes the rental is a full write-off and does not get depreciated over time as a purchase would. The rental expense will be budgeted as part of the trade show or event that it is directly related to.

There are many reasons that renting a money counter makes sense. If you do decide to rent,  reserve your equipment as far ahead of time as possible. Rental companies with take your reservation up to a year in advance. During peak trade show seasons machines can easily get fully booked. Click to find out more about renting a money counter

Announcing the BEST Counterfeit Detector Guarantee in the Industry

We are proud to announce our new C3300  Counterfeit Detector with COUNTERFEIT SHIELD which is the best counterfeit detector guarantee in the industry. 

Counterfeit Shield Guarantee
Our state of the art technology will protect you against any counterfeits made anywhere in the world. We back that promise with our Counterfeit Shield Guarantee: We will reimburse you the full face value of the counterfeit bill should your detector accept it as genuine. See brochure for more information.

More Information on the C-3300 Counterfeit Detector

Counterfeit Pens Are Not a Good way to Detect Fake Money

Making and passing counterfeit currency is a multimillion dollar industry. With inexpensive inkjet printers and computers it is an easy business to get into. Almost anybody can print fake money.  Retail associates are not properly equipped to recognize fake bills and most often the bills are not identified as fake until they reach the bank.

     Many retailers depend on counterfeit detection pens to check larger bills at their cash registers. These pens are not the best way to catch counterfeit bills. The pens use iodine to react chemically with the starch found in papers made from wood pulp, but real money is not printed on paper made from wood pulp. You swipe the pen across the bill and if it the iodine reacts with starch the mark will turn black and identify the bills as fake. If the mark remains yellow or clear the bill is genuine. This will catch the amateur who prints money on an inkjet printer with cheap paper, but it will not catch the professional counterfeiter who can obtain high quality cotton paper that does not use starch.  Another way to get real paper to print bills on is to bleach (“wash”) smaller bills then use the resulting blank paper to print a larger bill. Pens can also be fooled by using hair spray or fabric softener to coat fake bills.

     There are many better solutions. The easiest and cheapest solution is to train associates to identify a fake bill by holding it up to the light and looking at the watermark. All US bills have a watermark of the face on the bill to the right of the printed face. The watermark face can be seen by holding the bill up to bright light or sunlight. The face on the watermark must match the face on the bill. Another inexpensive solution is a ultraviolet detector. Placing the bill into the ultraviolet detector will quickly identify fake bills. Also available are hand held flashlight type ultra violet detectors.  One more option is an automatic bill detector. These run around $300 and you simply place the bill into the machine at the point of sale and it checks the bill and feeds it back to you.

     If you identify a fake bill do not return it to the customer. Retain the bill and call local authorities. If this is not possible then try to remember a detailed description of the suspect and their vehicle and report the crime to law enforcement. To attempt to pass a fake bill on after you accept it is a crime.

     Relying on a cheap counterfeit detection pen to identify counterfeit money is not going to work. There are much better ways to protect  yourself from fake money. Put a plan in place today and train your employees on how to protect your business.Check out our Counterfeit Detectors

What You Must Know About Large Cash Payments to Your Business

Many small business owners are totally unaware that they are breaking the law when they accept cash payments over $10,000. What they do not know could cost them huge fines from the IRS. Under IRS rules, if a business accepts a cash payment of $10,000 or more for a single transaction, they must report it by filing a form 8300 within 15 days of the transaction. This form can be filed online or on paper. Additionally , the business is required to notify the person from whom they accepted the payment no later than January 31 of the year following the filing.

The penalties for not filing can be huge. The intentional disregard penalty for failure to report is the greater of $25,000 or the amount of cash received in such transaction not to exceed $100,000. Failure to file a timely return can run $50 to $100 per transaction. The aggregate annual limitation (ceiling) in the case of businesses with gross receipts exceeding $5 million is $1,500,000. For businesses with gross receipts not exceeding $5 million, the aggregate annual limitation is $500,000.

Breaking a transaction into two payments does not allow you to avoid filing. The IRS counts more than one payment related to one transaction as still being subject to the $10,000 limitation. For example, if a business sold a tractor and received a $7,000 cash deposit on the order, delivered the tractor some time later and received the $5,000 balance as cash, that would be counted as a $12,000 transaction and requires the filing of a form 8300 . It is not necessary to report transactions using cashiers checks or money orders, but any form of cash or coin is subject to the limitations.

If a business sells a customer an item for $9,000 cash one month and a month later the same customer buys a totally different item for cash, that is considered two separate transactions and not subject to filing. However, if the two sales happened within a 24 hour period they would be subject to the limitation. If a business leases a space to someone who pays $2,000 a month rent in cash and the total cash rent paid during a calendar year exceeds $10,000 , then that is subject to the limitation because it is all related to one transaction.

It gets rather tricky sometimes to determine when the limit has been exceeded. When in doubt consult your accountant or the IRS website for further definition, or you can call the IRS for advice. Form 8300 can be obtained online or wherever you get IRS forms. It can also be filed electronically online. Be careful to always report these transactions within 15 days. Better to be safe than sorry. Please be sure to visit our site for Money Counters

How to Clean a Currency Counter

Cleaning a currency counter will extend the life of the machine, reduce service calls and improve the efficiency of the machine. However, an improper cleaning can do more harm than good so it is very important that it be done properly. Machine should be cleaned weekly.

To properly clean a money counter you need a source of compressed air. This can be canned air which can be purchased from any office supply store or from you money counter supply company or you can use a air compressor to supply the compress air, a bill counter cleaning card and a lint free cloth.

Waffle Cleaning Card

Canned Air

Start out by removing power and wiping the machine surfaces down with a lint free cloth. Then use the compressed air to blow out the dust throughout the machine. Blow the air into all the openings on the machine including openings in the bottom plate.  This will remove dust from all the sensors and from the rollers and inside the machine. Then re-attach the power to the machine and turn it on. Run a few bills through the machine. Open the cleaning card foil packet and insert the card into the machine much the same as you would insert a bill into the machine. The card will run through the machine and clean the wheels and sensors along the way. If the card is especially dirty when it exits the machine then consider running a second card through. Never re-run the same card through the machine more than once.

Now you are finished. If possible keep the machine powered off and covered by a dust cover during extended periods on non-use. Your Currency Counter should last you for years if properly maintained.

The US Dollar Bill Just Won’t Go Away

Does the US Government want to save $13.8 Billion over the next 30 years? According to estimates by the Government Accountability Office and others, that is the potential savings if we could just scrap the paper $1 bills and use coins instead. That is a lot of money, even by Washington standards. Senator John McCain introduced the COINS Act in June, along with Democratic Senators Mark Udall of Colorado and Tom Harkin of Iowa and Republican Senators Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. The bill seeks to phase out the paper dollar bills over the next four years.

     Previous attempts to introduce dollar coins have not been successful. The reasons are not always clear. Maybe it is because people think the coins are too big or too small or they will weigh down their pockets. There was a gold dollar in circulation from 1849 to 1889 but it was very small and easy to lose. That was a serious problem back in the days when a dollar could be a full day's wages. In 1979 the US Mint made the Susan B. Anthony dollar coins which were easily confused with quarters and widely disliked. That coin was discontinued in 1981. It was reintroduced in 1999 but still never caught on. Later there was the Sacagawea Dollar which was also widely disliked and short lived.

     Other countries have experienced great success introducing dollar coins. Canadians love their Loonies and Toonies which are $1 and $2 coins. Canada has experienced  ten times their estimated savings in their switch to coins. Britain and Japan have had similar success with their coins. The key to these successful conversions is that in all three countries they phased out or eliminated the paper dollars. Once you phase out the paper dollars and push the dollar coins into circulation, people will love them; at least that has been the experience in Britain, Japan and Canada.

     Government figures show that the Federal Reserve depots currently hold 1.4 Billion one dollar coins and the Mint has 51 million coins. The Mint has since reduced production of the one dollar coins.  We have plenty of inventory. The US Government has been slow to act due to Intensive lobbying by the suppliers of paper and ink used in paper bill production.

     The time has come to move this effort forward. The savings will be significant and the Federal Government should always be looking for ways to save money and reduce the almost $17 Trillion national debt.

Bruce Mitchell is an expert on currency equipment and is the owner of Mitchell Enterprises, a company that distributes money handling equipment and supplies to retailers and the banking industry. For more information visit the website at money counters

Announcing our newest Currency Counter the NEW NC-1100 Mixed Bill Money Counter

Announcing Our newest currency counter the  NEW NC-1100 Portable Mixed Bill Money Counter is now available. As an introductory offer and for a limited time we are offering these machines at less than $1,000 to the general public. The suggested retail is $1399 . Imagine buying a full feature discriminating mixed bill money counter with full-featured counterfeit protection from a LEADING Manufacturer for less than $1,000.

This machine has an optional rechargeable battery pack for portable operations and also has an optional USB printer for printing out the count results. Please watch our video  and visit our currency counter website for prices and ordering information

Help for Hurricane Sandy Victims

Business owners who had damages to Money Counters or Coin Counters during Hurricane Sandy can get help here

DID your business suffer damages to their money counters or coin counters due to Hurricane Sandy ? We want to help you. We are offering FREE value appraisals and damage estimates, reduced prices on rental machines, 50% off on all written insurance appraisals, reduced prices on currency counter repairs and help sourcing needed parts or manuals. Just contact us through our website count-money.com and let us know how we can help you recover from Hurricane Sandy damage. 

New APP Helps Blind People Count Money

A new, government-funded cellphone app will help the blind and those with visual impairments count their cash.

Those with Android devices can scan a bill with their phone's camera and the app will read the bill's denomination aloud.

The Education Department and the U.S. Treasury teamed up to launch the free app. U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios says the "IDEAL Currency Identifier" is intended to give the blind more independence.

There's already a similar free app called EyeNote for Apple devices such as iPhones and iPads. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing says that app has been downloaded more than 8,000 times since its launch last year.  For all your money counting needs visit count-money.com

How to Manage a CASH Drawer

Retailers will benefit greatly by creating a procedure to account for the store's cash. These internal controls are necessary to prevent mishandling of money and to safeguard assets against loss. Not only do strong internal controls promote operational efficiency, they also ensure reliable accounting records.

The process of counting the money, reconciling the receipts and balancing the cash drawer creates an accountability of the day's transactions. This cash management system can be created at the same time store policies are established. 

We supply a  selection of  money counters and  Coin Counters to use when balancing and counting your cash drawers. These machines are faster, easier and more accurate than hand counting.

Why Balance?

Store management or cashiers can pull a sales report at any time during a shift. By adding the beginning cash in drawer to the daily sales figure, a retailer will know exactly how much money should be in the cash register at any given time. This is extremely useful:

• To avoid holding too much cash on the sales floor.
• If the store is robbed.
• When a customer complains about too little change.
• For discovering frequent overages/shortages for particular cashiers.
• To remove temptation of taking cash without documentation from the cash drawer.

How to Balance a Cash Drawer

Balancing a cash register usually takes place at the end of the day or at the end of a cashier's shift. The cash drawer and its contents should be taken to an office or other secluded area to prepare the report. If balancing the drawer after closing, be sure the sales floor lights are off and the door is locked.

Any overages and or shortages should be investigated. Human nature should be taken into account for minor errors and small amounts. However, frequent discrepancies could be sign of employee theft or may indicate further training is required for a particular cashier.

The starting cash on-hand is put back into the cash drawer and stored for the evening, while the deposit is prepared for the bank. All credit card slips, terminal reports and other register receipts can be stapled to the Daily Cash Drawer Report and filed by date.

Separation of Duties

For more accountability, consider using two people to balance the cash register. One person will count the drawer and create the daily cash report, while the other person prepares a bank deposit. Both staff members should sign the report indicating they are responsible for the figures shown. While no system can prevent fraud, this audit trail will help discourage collusion among employees.

At the beginning of the next shift, each casher should be assigned their own cash drawer. Have the cashier recount the cash in the drawer to verify the beginning balance. If accepting checks from customers, create a system to restrictively endorse all checks promptly as received. The internal control cycle of balancing a cash register starts all over.

Counting Machines

We sell a nice selection of money counters and Coin Counters to use when balancing and counting your cash drawers. These machines are faster, easier and more accurate than hand counting.

Woman Claims Walmart Workers Tore Up Her $100 Bills

A Texas woman is suing Walmart for false imprisonment and emotional distress, claiming the store detained her for two hours over counterfeit money that wasn’t counterfeit. Store employees tore up two $100 bills, Julia Garcia contends, then tried to return them to her when a police officer finally confirmed that they were genuine. Garcia was on a Christmas shopping trip for her children in 2010 when a cashier took her $100 bill, decided it was fake and tore it in half before bothering to check it with a counterfeit detection pen, according to the lawsuit. Even then, after the test showed the bill was real and its metal strip could clearly be seen, a manager came over and destroyed a second $100 bill that Garcia offered. The manager then made Garcia wait for two hours at the front of the store for police to arrive, in full view of other customers, the suit contends. When an officer finally showed up, he quickly confirmed that the bills were real and made the manager replace her money — but not before the Walmart employee tried to return the already-torn bills instead. Now, the store has a lawsuit on its hands. “The legal remedies for false imprisonment are the recovery of actual damages such as physical injuries, medical costs, value of lost, misappropriated or damaged property, if any,” says Christopher L. Davis, a consumer litigation and personal injury attorney near Dallas. “A successful plaintiff in a false imprisonment case can also recover damages for humiliation, shame, fright, mental anguish, as well as exemplary damages, if it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with malice.” The plaintiff is seeking less than $74,900.

To see a full line of counterfeit detection devices please visit our website

US Mint Stops Minting $1 Coins

Nobody Wants the $1 Coins and The US Mint Finally Stops Making Them
The Wall Street Journal
5:56 a.m. CST, December 14, 2011

The U.S. government, its vaults stuffed with 1.4 billion one-dollar coins bearing the likenesses of dead presidents, has had enough of them. It is going to curtail production. "Nobody wants them," Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday. That is for sure: The Mint says there are enough $1 coins sitting in Federal Reserve vaults to meet demand for a decade, and the inventory was on track to hit two billion by 2016. More than 40 percent of the coins that are minted are returned to the government unwanted, the Treasury said. The rest apparently sit in vending machines -- one of the few places they are widely used -- or in the drawers of coin collectors. What the coins don't do is get around much. In fact, the Mint has never had much luck with dollar coins. The Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979-1981, revived for one year in 1999) never caught on; some people said it was too close in size to the quarter. Neither did the Sacagawea Golden Dollars (2000-2008) or its successor, the Native American $1 Coin, which has the same front but a different back. But that didn't discourage Congress. In 2005, it mandated that the Mint make $1 coins with the likenesses of the presidents, four each year between 2007 to 2016. So far, the Mint is up to James Garfield, the 20th president. Next up: Chester A. Arthur. "And as it will shock you all, the call for Chester A. Arthur coins is not there," Biden said at a Cabinet-level meeting of a campaign to cut government waste. Arthur fans needn't fret. The Mint will keep producing the presidential $1 coins on schedule, but will only make enough to meet collector demand and no longer attempt to circulate them. By law, 20 percent of all dollar coins produced have to be Native American coins, so production of them will be reduced too. The move, the Treasury said, will save taxpayers $50 million a year -- or about 15 minutes worth of the federal deficit. The decision is a milestone of sorts in a long-running battle between those think it is wasteful to keep printing dollar bills that wear out and have to be replaced frequently, and those who hate the $1 coin and see it as the real waste of money because Americans don't like them. Peter Calabrese, a Roman Catholic priest who lives near Niagara Falls, N.Y., close to the Canadian border, is in the latter camp. He noted that Canada phased out its dollar bill when it introduced the $1 "loonie" coin in 1987. "You get used to it," Father Calabrese said. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, also phased out small-denomination paper bills when replacing them with coins. Amid debates over taxes, health care and wars, the dollar-bill and dollar-coin camps have been waging war in Washington for years. A band of House Republicans is backing the Currency Optimization, Innovation and National Savings (COINS) Act that would eliminate the dollar bill. The two senators from Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown and Democrat John Kerrey, countered with the Currency Efficiency Act, which aimed at curtailing what they said was "massive overproduction" of "the unpopular one dollar coin." Perhaps not so coincidentally, the company that makes the paper for the U.S. currency, Crane & Co., is based in Dalton, Mass. "There is more convenience in the form factor for the paper dollar and people are quite attached to how well it works," said Doug Crane, vice president of the company. "Coins tend to be a nuisance. They end up in jars or seat cushions." Americans also appear to be sentimental about their currency. Efforts to eliminate the penny because of the costs of producing it, or its limited utility, have gone nowhere, and the Mint says it is committed to producing the one-cent pieces. Tuesday's move by the Obama administration incensed those who have been promoting use of the dollar coin. "This makes zero sense other than getting a cute little headline," said Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste. The anti-waste group is among several members of what is called the Dollar Coin Alliance, which includes the vending machine trade association and the steelworkers union. The other side cheered, though. "These coins are a textbook case of wasteful spending -- something Americans just don't want or need," said Sen. , Republican of Louisiana, who has introduced a bill to kill the presidential $1 coin program.

Watch out for counterfeit money during the holidays

Happy Holidays, watch out for counterfeit bills !! This time of the year can be a retailer's nightmare as far as counterfeit money goes. The US Secret Service says that counterfeiting is rampant this time of the year because the confusion and crowds at the registers make passing fake bills much easier. Everyone needs to be diligent in checking their bills...even the consumers can receive a fake bill in their change if they are not careful. The pens that stores use to check the bills do not work because the paper they use to make the fake bills is good paper made from "washing" a real bill or the counterfeiter has just added a "0" to a five making it a fifty or to a ten making it a hundred. Also counterfeiters can spray fabric softener on a counterfeit bill which fools the pens into thinking they are genuine. Some steps you can take to avoid accepting a fake bill:

• Use an electronic detection device that actually reads the micro-printing and displays the true denomination of the bill such as out C-3310 detector


• Look at the number in the lower right corner of the bill and it should change in the light as you shift the bill


• Look at the face on the bill watermark and check to see if the face is the same as the face printed on the bill


• Make sure the portrait and the serial numbers on the bill are clear and not fuzzy

If you do mistakenly accept a counterfeit bill do NOT try to pass it on, to do so is a crime. Put the bill in an envelope and call your local police. Try to remember as much as you can about the source of the bill.

Announcing NEW Canadian Bill Counters

A Whole New Look and Feel
Canadian currency has come a long way. And it's going even further. The new polymer notes look and feel quite different, but they're a good change for Canadians. They are highly secure, durable, and innovative.
Unfortunately the new Polymer bills with their "plastic" feel and clear windows play havoc with most bill counters. The good news is that we have two new models available that have been totally re-designed to handle the new Canadian Polymer bills while still retaining the ability to count the older Canadian currency as well. Check out our newest model bill counters today click here

ATM Machines with FREE Processing now available

Announcing that count-money.com is now carrying a full line of retail ATM machines. Our machines come with FREE transaction processing. Whether you need an ATM for your own business or wish to place ATM's in business locations for profit, we are the best source for great service and competitive prices. FREE shipping anywhere in the continental USA , Free setup and FREE transaction processing ! Click Here

The FATE of the US Dollar Bill being debated by Congress

A trio of U.S. House members have introduced a bill to eliminate the dollar bill, long a high legislative priority for the amusement game trade.

"Representatives David Schweikert (Ariz.) and two other House Republicans - including supercommittee co-chairman Jeb Hensarling (Texas) - introduced legislation last week aimed at retiring the paper dollar," reported the website TheHill.com, which covers Congress. "Schweikert said his bill would save billions of dollars over the next few decades by transitioning to a dollar coin in four years, or as soon as $600 million worth of dollar coins are in circulation. Schweikert said 3 billion paper dollars are shredded every year, and the constant need to destroy these dollars and create new ones is a cost the government can no longer bear. He said metal coins would last longer and therefore save money."

However, a counter measure has been proposed by Massa chussetts senators Scott Brown and John Kerry to protect the dollar bill, which was also a longstanding position supported by the late senator Ted Kennedy.

"The Brown-Kerry bill would prevent the minting of $1 coins when a surplus of them exists. The two senators argue that $1.2 billion worth of $1 dollar coins are sitting in the Federal Reserve's vaults, not in circulation, which is adding to the Fed's storage costs," The Hill explained, noting that the dollar bill is produced on paper supplied by Mass.-based Crane & Co.

New $100 bills delayed indefinitely no release date in sight

As of September 9, 2011 the US Treasury and Federal Reserve still has now announced the release date for the new United States One-Hundred dollar bills. The new bills were announced April 2010 and slated to be issued February 2011 . The release was delayed due to problems in production and printing of the new bills. They discovered sporadic creeping of the paper during the printing process, causing bill creasing. They printed about $1.1 Billion of the new bills before this problem was discovered. They are hand examining the bills already printed and are finding that most of the bills will be usable when the problem is resolved. To date they still have not found a solution to this problem and are working to find a suitable resolution as soon as possible. The Federal Reserve will make a public announcement at least 6 months before issuing the new $100 to allow merchants and other businesses to prepare for the new bills. To watch a video about this click here . Please visit our web site count-money.com for updates

New $100 Bills delayed due to Treasury error

The US Treasury has unveiled an error that will cost US Taxpayers $137.5 million and delay the new bills by months.
The new hundred dollar bill design, which was released in April and scheduled to go into circulation in February, is fancy indeed. It includes a disappearing Liberty Bell and a bright blue security strip composed of hundreds of tiny lenses. Unfortunately, the US Treasury might have bitten off a little more than they could chew with this design. As the new bills were being printed, all these intricacies caused the paper to wrinkle, so when the bills were printed, there were blank spots where the wrinkles were.
This is turning out to be a major problem, as it costs 12.5 cents to produce each $100 bill, which means that if all 1.1 billion of the bills that have been printed so far have to be destroyed, the Treasury will lose $137.5 million. Not only that, but retailers will also lose money. $100 bills are the most frequently counterfeited. I would recommend trying it at home, but all counterfeiters need is to bleach a bunch of $1 bills and print a $100 image on top of them with a laser to printer to get past most watchful eyes.
This fiasco brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “printer error”. Let’s hope the government gets this figured out ASAP.

Are you ready for the new $100 bills

Due to some manufacturing problems the new redesigned $100 will be delayed until late February 2011. Are you ready for it ? If you have money counters then you need to check with the manufacturer for any possible software upgrade to allow your machine to detect the new $100 bills and check them for counterfeit. If you are a vending company and you have machines that accept $100 bills then you need to update your machines. If you are in the ATM business , all your machines will require upgrades. Finally, if you are a merchant you need to train all your cashiers to recognize the new bills. Check our web site at count-money.com for further information