Counterfeit United States currency

For fantasy United States currency that is clearly used for jokes, see Promotional United States fake currency.
"To Counterfeit is Death" - counterfeit warning printed on the reverse of a 4 shilling Colonial currency in 1776 from Delaware Colony
American 18th–19th century iron counterfeit coin mold for making fake Spanish milled dollars and U.S. half dollars
Anti-counterfeiting features on a series 1993 U.S. $20 bill
The security strip of a U.S. $20 bill glows under black light as a safeguard against counterfeiting
Counterfeit 100 dollar bill, series of 1974 but probably made later. Over-stamped with "Contrefaçon" on both sides. On display at the British Museum, London

Counterfeiting of the currency of the United States is widely attempted. According to the United States Department of Treasury, an estimated $70 million in counterfeit bills are in circulation, or approximately 1 note in counterfeits for every 10,000 in genuine currency, with an upper bound of $200 million counterfeit, or 1 counterfeit per 4,000 genuine notes.[1][2] However, these numbers are based on annual seizure rates on counterfeiting, and the actual stock of counterfeit money is uncertain because some counterfeit notes successfully circulate for a few transactions.

  1. ^ "Press Release on Joint Report on Use and Counterfeiting of U.S. Currency Abroad". 2006-10-25.
  2. ^ "7. Estimates of Counterfeiting" (PDF), The Use and Counterfeiting of United States Currency Abroad, Part 3, US Department of Treasury, Sep 2006, p. 70