How to Check if a 100 Dollar Bill Is Real
Check the date., Feel the bill., Look for the security thread., Check microprinting., Look for color-shifting ink., Find the watermark portrait., Pay attention to blurry borders., Use a counterfeit money detection pen., Compare it with another bill.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Check the date.
The newest $100 bills are “Series 2009” bills, and they have many different security features.
Older bills are being phased out of circulation to prevent counterfeiters from fooling people.Nevertheless, older bills are still legal tender, so if you get one you shouldn’t automatically assume it is fake.
Check the date on the bill.
The average $100 bill stay in circulation for seven years.
Accordingly, most of the older bills should be out of circulation by now.
Nevertheless, you might have one or more stored at home that you want to check. -
Step 2: Feel the bill.
U.S. currency has a distinctive feel.
The bills are printed on cotton and linen, not paper.
Also, bills should have slightly raised ink, which is a feature of the printing process.If you handle currency as part of your job, you should quickly develop familiarity with the feel of authentic money.
Using touch is not foolproof, however.
The most successful counterfeiters will bleach real money and then print over it.
Nevertheless, counterfeiters struggle to reproduce the raised printing, so feeling the bill is a good first step. , A $100 bill printed after 1990 should have a security thread on the left-hand side that is only visible when you hold the bill up to the light.
The words “USA” and “100” should alternate on the thread.
If you hold the bill up to UV light, then the thread glows pink., Older bills used microprinting as a security feature.
Use a magnifying glass to check for microprinting, which will appear in different spots depending on the year the bill was issued.
For example, in $100 bills issued between 1990-1996, the words “The United States of America” should appear on the outer edge of the portrait oval.For bills issued between 1996-2013, “USA100” should appear in the numeral 100 on the lower left-hand corner.
You should also see “The United States of America” in the left lapel of Franklin’s coat., $100 bills issued between 1996-2013 employ color-shifting ink.
Tilt the note in the light and look in the lower right-hand corner.
The numeral 100 should change from green to black., Bills printed after 1996 have a watermark portrait of Benjamin Franklin in the blank space at the right-hand side.
The image should be very faint but visible from either side., Real bills should have clear, sharp lines, which are very hard for counterfeiters to reproduce.
If you see blurry printing or text, then you are probably dealing with a counterfeit., This pen is sold at Amazon and costs $5.
It checks for common chemicals used in counterfeits.
However, fraudsters have gotten wise and no longer use the chemicals, so the pen isn’t foolproof.Nevertheless, you can now buy a counterfeit detection pen that has a UV light built into the cap and costs under $10. , No special security features were used on $100 bills printed before
1990.
Accordingly, the best way to check its authenticity is to compare it to another $100.You might have to go to a bank to check if the bill is authentic.
You can also visit the U.S.
Currency website and find images of older $100 bills. -
Step 3: Look for the security thread.
-
Step 4: Check microprinting.
-
Step 5: Look for color-shifting ink.
-
Step 6: Find the watermark portrait.
-
Step 7: Pay attention to blurry borders.
-
Step 8: Use a counterfeit money detection pen.
-
Step 9: Compare it with another bill.
Detailed Guide
The newest $100 bills are “Series 2009” bills, and they have many different security features.
Older bills are being phased out of circulation to prevent counterfeiters from fooling people.Nevertheless, older bills are still legal tender, so if you get one you shouldn’t automatically assume it is fake.
Check the date on the bill.
The average $100 bill stay in circulation for seven years.
Accordingly, most of the older bills should be out of circulation by now.
Nevertheless, you might have one or more stored at home that you want to check.
U.S. currency has a distinctive feel.
The bills are printed on cotton and linen, not paper.
Also, bills should have slightly raised ink, which is a feature of the printing process.If you handle currency as part of your job, you should quickly develop familiarity with the feel of authentic money.
Using touch is not foolproof, however.
The most successful counterfeiters will bleach real money and then print over it.
Nevertheless, counterfeiters struggle to reproduce the raised printing, so feeling the bill is a good first step. , A $100 bill printed after 1990 should have a security thread on the left-hand side that is only visible when you hold the bill up to the light.
The words “USA” and “100” should alternate on the thread.
If you hold the bill up to UV light, then the thread glows pink., Older bills used microprinting as a security feature.
Use a magnifying glass to check for microprinting, which will appear in different spots depending on the year the bill was issued.
For example, in $100 bills issued between 1990-1996, the words “The United States of America” should appear on the outer edge of the portrait oval.For bills issued between 1996-2013, “USA100” should appear in the numeral 100 on the lower left-hand corner.
You should also see “The United States of America” in the left lapel of Franklin’s coat., $100 bills issued between 1996-2013 employ color-shifting ink.
Tilt the note in the light and look in the lower right-hand corner.
The numeral 100 should change from green to black., Bills printed after 1996 have a watermark portrait of Benjamin Franklin in the blank space at the right-hand side.
The image should be very faint but visible from either side., Real bills should have clear, sharp lines, which are very hard for counterfeiters to reproduce.
If you see blurry printing or text, then you are probably dealing with a counterfeit., This pen is sold at Amazon and costs $5.
It checks for common chemicals used in counterfeits.
However, fraudsters have gotten wise and no longer use the chemicals, so the pen isn’t foolproof.Nevertheless, you can now buy a counterfeit detection pen that has a UV light built into the cap and costs under $10. , No special security features were used on $100 bills printed before
1990.
Accordingly, the best way to check its authenticity is to compare it to another $100.You might have to go to a bank to check if the bill is authentic.
You can also visit the U.S.
Currency website and find images of older $100 bills.
About the Author
Deborah Kennedy
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow hobbies tutorials.
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