Counterfeit banknote detection pen: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Currency authenticator}}

A '''counterfeit banknote detection pen''' is a pen used to apply an [[iodine]]-based ink to [[banknote]]s in an attempt to determine their authenticity.

[[File:An_example_of_a_Counterfeit_banknote_detection_pen,_13_October_2022.jpg|thumb|A counterfeit banknote detection pen, used to detect fake banknotes]]

A '''counterfeit banknote detection pen''' is a pen used to apply an [[iodine]]-based ink to [[banknote]]s in an attempt to determine their authenticity. The ink reacts with starch in wood-based paper to create a black or blue mark but the paper in a real bill contains no starch, so the pen mark remains unchanged.

==Background==

[[Counterfeit money|Counterfeit banknote]] detection pens are used to detect [[counterfeit]] [[Swiss franc]], [[euro]] and [[Federal Reserve noteNote|United States banknotes]], amongst others. Typically, genuine banknotes are printed on paper based on cotton fibers and do not contain the starches that are reactive with iodine. When the pen is used to mark genuine bills, the mark is yellowish or colourless.

Such pens are most effective against counterfeit notes printed on a standard printer or [[photocopier]] paper.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://money.howstuffworks.com/question212.htm |title=How does a counterfeit detector pen work? 123 | work=HowStuffWorks |date=April 2000 |accessdate= 2008-03-28}}</ref> The chemical properties of US banknotes priorprinted tobefore 1960 are such thatmake marking pens douseless, resulting in [[false positives and false notnegatives|false workpositives]].<ref>{{cite web

|url= http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v10n50a25.html

|title= OLD PAPER MONEY AND COUNTERFEIT-DETECTING PENS

|publisher= The E-Sylum

|date= December 9, 2007

}}</ref> One example of this complication taking place happened in 2016, in which a 13 -year-old student was arrested by police after she attempted to pay for lunch with a red seal Series 1953 [[United States $2two-dollar bill|$2 bill]] after the school's counterfeit pen was unable to prove its authenticity.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://abc13.com/news/lunchroom-lunacy-isd-cops-investigate-fake-money/1314203/ | title=Lunchroom Lunacy: ISD cops investigate $2 bill spent on school lunch | date=29 April 2016 | publisher=abc13.com | accessdate=Jul 15, 2019}}</ref>

==Reception==

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===Critical reception===

Critics suggest the effectiveness is much lower. Critics claim that professional counterfeiters use starch-free paper, making the pen unable to detect the majority of counterfeit money in circulation.<ref>{{cite webjournal

|url= http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=0001547E-EECE-1FD3-A7EA83414B7F012C

|title= Bunkum!

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|last= Shermer

|authorlink= Michael Shermer

|publisherjournal= [[Scientific American]]

|volume= 290

|archiveurl= http://www.ntskeptics.org/news/news2003-12-18.htm

|issue= 1

|archivedate= 2003-12-18

|page= 36

}}</ref> Magician and skeptic [[James Randi]] has written about the ineffectiveness of counterfeit pens on numerous occasions<ref name="swift_2004-12-03">{{cite web

|doi= 10.1038/scientificamerican0104-36

|bibcode= 2004SciAm.290a..36S

|archiveurl= https://archive.today/20130202034612/http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=0001547E-EECE-1FD3-A7EA83414B7F012C

|archivedate= 20032013-1202-1802

|url-access= subscription

}} [http://www.ntskeptics.org/news/news2003-12-18.htm Alt URL]</ref> Magician and skeptic [[James Randi]] has written about the ineffectiveness of counterfeit pens on numerous occasions<ref name="swift_2004-12-03">{{cite web

|url= http://www.randi.org/jr/120304youve.html#1

|title= Commentary

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|work= Swift

|publisher= [[James Randi Educational Foundation]]

}}</ref> and usesused a pen as an example during his lectures.<ref>{{cite news

|url= http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/03/27/paranormal_skeptic_addresses_c.aspx

{{cite news

|url= http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/03/27/paranormal_skeptic_addresses_c.aspx

|title= Paranormal skeptic addresses crowd

|accessdate= 2008-03-28

|last= Rowley

|first= Erin

|date= 2008-03-27

|publisher= [[The Daily Collegian (Penn State)|The Daily Collegian]]

|archive-date= 2008-03-29

}}</ref> Randi claims to have contacted a [[United States Secret Service]] inspector and asked whether the pen works as advertised, to which the inspector replied "it is not dependable."<ref name="swift_2004-12-03"/> The Secret Service does not include such pens in their guidelines for the public's detection of counterfeit US currency.<ref>{{cite web

|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080329051459/http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2008/03/27/paranormal_skeptic_addresses_c.aspx

|url-status= dead

}}</ref> Randi claimsclaimed to have contacted a [[United States Secret Service]] inspector and asked whether the pen works as advertised, to which the inspector replied "it is not dependable."<ref name="swift_2004-12-03"/> The Secret Service does not include such pens in their guidelines for the public's detection of counterfeit US currency.<ref>{{cite web

|url=http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/money_detect.shtml

|title=Know Your Money - Counterfeit Awareness

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==See also==

* [[List of pen types, brands and companies]]

* [[Security printing]]

* [[Steganography]]

==References==