When we look at a piece of art, what exactly are we seeing? This of course depends on who we are, expert or amateur; but it also depends on our mood, our state of mind, and how much time we have.

Advanced technologies continue to improve and become even more sophisticated. This is definitely so for the enduring R+D work focused on reducing the banknote counterfeit threat.

Digimarc Corporation has announced a five-year extension of its agreement with the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group, comprising 35 of the world’s central banks.

If you have been enjoying a new blockbuster movie at the theatre or binge watching the latest series on your sofa, then you’ve most likely seen impressive piles of cash. This is actually fake cash, manufactured as a prop, especially for the camera.

In our February feature on counterfeiting, Duncan Reid covered adversarial analysis. In this article he reviews the classification of counterfeiters, illustrated by case studies at each level.

Counterfeiting of Australian banknotes is approaching its lowest level in a decade. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has carried out an analysis of the factors playing a role in this decline and quantified their effects. The report – Recent Trends in Counterfeiting – has been published in its June Bulletin.

When a central bank is designing a new series or upgrading the security of the existing designs how can it be certain that the security features selected will be resilient against counterfeiting? How do they choose from the many features and technologies on offer?

On 1 January 1999, 11 EU countries fixed their exchange rates, adopted a shared monetary policy under the European Central Bank, and launched their new common currency. The euro was born as an electronic currency.

The Bundesbank reported in August 2020 a marked increase in counterfeits where no attempt had been made to mimic the security features. There is a high level of trust in the authenticity of euro banknotes.

Counterfeiting is a sensitive subject. Without counterfeiters most of us would not have a job, but central banks have a difficult line to walk. They need the public to check their banknotes, but equally they need the public to trust and have confidence in their currency.