• Best Counterfeit Money
• How To Tell The Difference Between Fake Money And Real Money
• How To Identify Counterfeit Bills

As a cop I have had a lot of experience with fake notes. How can you tell if a bill is real or not? There is a counterfeit bill detecting pen you can buy. You make a mark on any Federal Reserve Note if the FRN is real the mark is amber in color.

Cuba’s famous Cohiba brand is one of the most counterfeited cigars in the world. Its reputation and high prices have led it to be illegally copied over and over again, but the cigar remains an object of envy and desire, one that every cigar lover dreams about smoking.

• The fake notes may or may not have an ornate design on the back of the note. The authentic $500 note has a plain back to it. Two Authentic $500 'Stonewall' Jackson notes.
• US $1 bills don’t have any of the security features found on larger denominations, because a single dollar generally isn’t worth counterfeiting. If you’re unsure, study the bill under magnification and look for tiny red and blue fibers in the pape.

Here are the elements of the newest Cohiba band that you should look for to decide if it’s authentic or not:

1) Holographic Taino Indian Head
Front and center on the band is a holographic image of the famous Taino Indian head. Look closer and you will see that there is a smaller head within the larger. This “head-within-head” effect is a telling sign that the band is authentic.

2) Holographic Elements
Holograms of the word “Cuba” and the Taino Indian head logo repeat on the gilded top edge of the band.

3) Nine White Squares
Nine rows of white squares in a checkerboard pattern run from the gilded holographic top edge to the solid gold line that spans the bottom third of the band. It’s important to note that the squares are full and do not get cut off either on the top or bottom row.

4) Repeating Logos
The Cuba and Taino Indian head logos repeat along the gilded, holographic bottom and top edges.

Best Counterfeit Money

5) Embossed Lettering
The famous Cohiba on white background with a square, gold border is embossed with proper gilding. It is a lustrous, metallic gold, however, it is non-holographic.

Created in 1966, Cohiba was not commercially released until 1982. The brand is known for its canary yellow coloring and famous white-and-black checkboard band. The heart and soul of Cohiba’s packaging, though, is the famous Taino Indian head logo, a graphic depiction of Cuba’s native tribe. (The word “Cohiba” is the Taino word for tobacco.)

Produced by Vrijdag Premium Printing in the Netherlands, the Cohiba band shown here combines a beautiful, modern design with the latest in security measures that make it significantly more difficult to counterfeit. The upgraded and much larger band features a Behike-style hologram and golden Taino Indian head, placed center stage in the field of black-and-white squares that sit above the word Cohiba.

As Gordon Mott explains in his article 50 Years of Cohiba how the brand’s aesthetics have changed:

“Cohiba's labels and bands have evolved, but in one form or another that same Indian head has remained part of the design, even if it has become less prominent over time. The originals were packed in dress boxes, but by the time the line was expanded, the brand moved into plain, wooden boxes. Each had the name Cohiba, the vitola, or size of the cigar, and often the number of cigars packed in each box.

Cohiba's bands have changed considerably. The earliest versions feature rows of white dots on a black background over the word Cohiba, with a yellow stripe at the bottom. The dots soon became squares, and the words ‘La Habana, Cuba’ appeared under the logo. The word Cohiba later became gilded, the black letters becoming gold, and the ‘La’ was dropped from ‘Habana, Cuba.’ “

For more on Cohiba and counterfeits, check out these links and videos:

[Video] Counterfeit Cuban Cigars Part I: How To Tell A Fake From The Real Deal
[Video] Counterfeit Cuban Cigars Part II: Cutting Open Counterfeits

Submit A Fake

Think you may have purchased or smoked a fake Cuban cigar? Let us be the judge. Send any questionable Cuban band(s), along with a brief description of how/where you obtained the cigar(s), to our office address below. Due to the high volume of mail we receive, a response isn't guaranteed.

Cigar Aficionado
c/o Counterfeit Cigars
825 8th Avenue, 33rd Floor
New York, NY 10019

How To Tell The Difference Between Fake Money And Real Money

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You can see close-ups of all our banknotes, including details of their security features, in our banknote guides:

Online banknote training

The training highlights the security features on our notes, which you can use to check your notes are genuine. We also offer advice and a short test to check your understanding. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Free banknote education materials

Watch our short film which covers the key security features on all our current banknotes:

• The Bank of England banknotes. There are four denominations of banknotes in circulation: £5, £10, £20 and £50. All four denominations of notes are printed on polymer. There are also £20 and £50 notes printed on paper. This film will run through a number of key security features. You should check these features to ensure notes are genuine.

  The following security features are found on the polymer notes. There is a large see-through window. A portrait of the Queen is printed on the window with the numerical value of the note and the words 'Bank of England' printed twice around the edge. A metallic image is positioned over the window. The foil is gold on the front of the £5 and £10 notes, gold and blue on the front of the £20 note, and gold and green on the front of the £50 note. The foil is silver on the back of all notes. On the polymer £20 and £50 notes, there is a second, smaller window in the bottom corner of the note.

  Below the main see-through window on the front of all the polymer notes, there is a silver foil patch containing a hologram. When you tilt the note from side to side, the words change between the value of the note and 'Pounds'. A 3D image of the coronation crown appears above the main see-through window.

  The following security features are found on the paper notes. When you tilt the paper £20 note from side to side, the holographic images on the foil strip change between a '£' symbol and the number '20'. When you tilt the £50 note up and down or side to side, the images on the green motion thread change between a '£' symbol and the number '50'. When paper banknotes are held up to the light, there is a bright denomination at the top of the Queen's portrait in the watermark.

  Some security features are common across all current Bank of England banknotes. On the front of any of the notes, you can feel raised print. For example, on the words 'Bank of England' and in the bottom right corner. Under a good quality ultraviolet light, the numerical value appears in bright red and green on the front of the notes, against a duller background.

  The Bank of England banknotes

You can also order our free education materials online

What do I do if I get a counterfeit banknote?

Counterfeit banknotes are rare and also worthless.

We cannot reimburse you for counterfeit banknotes.If you suspect that you have a counterfeit banknote, please take it to your nearest police station. The police should fill out an NCO-1 form and provide you with a receipt and incident number. The suspect notes will be sent to the National Crime Agency and if counterfeit to the Bank of England for further examination.

If you have information about someone making, selling or using counterfeit banknotes, please contact the police or phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Counterfeiting directly funds organised crime. It hurts the UK economy by creating losses for businesses, which ultimately affects the cost of things that we buy. It also affects the pocket of anyone who receives a counterfeit note, as they are worthless. If you report counterfeiting to the police, you are helping with investigations and alerting them to a problem in their area. This means that they can take action to protect your community.

• If you are a retailer or business that handles cash, then you could be a target for counterfeiters looking to pass their notes.

  And, if you aren't routinely checking the notes you receive, the risk of getting caught out by these criminals only increases.

  Counterfeits make up only a very small fraction of Bank of England banknotes in circulation.But as businesses, you and your staff need to be vigilant against them.

  Counterfeiting directly funds organised crime, and it doesn't just hurt the businesses targeted, it also damages your community. The notes themselves are worthless. If you accept one unknowingly or otherwise, you or your business will be out of pocket and it could impact your customers.

  Fortunately all Bank of England banknotes have a series of security features built into their design. These features will help you identify whether the notes are genuine.

  Because these features can be checked quickly, they won't slow you down. The more aware you and your employees are of these security features, and the more of them you check at point-of-sale, the less likely you will be to fall victim to counterfeits. With the right training, you can easily check these security features. So what do you do if you think you've been handed a counterfeit note? You can't ignore it. Knowingly holding on to or passing counterfeit notes is illegal, and it could damage your reputation if one of your customers or suppliers realises you've given them a counterfeit banknote.

  “I’m sorry, I think this is the counterfeit note”.

  You should understand your company policy and know what to say to customers.

  “I'm afraid I'm going to have to take this and ask for another form of payment”.

  If the note turns out to be genuine, the customer will get their money back. Fill in a counterfeit receipt and send the banknote to the Bank of England, either directly or via your own bank.

  However if you feel at risk, give the note back to the customer and ask for another form of payment. If you suspect the customer is purposefully trying to pass a counterfeit note, call the police, and if you have kept the note hand it over to them.

  Confidence comes with experience and good training.

  The more these checks become routine, the less risk there is of getting caught out.

  For more information, or to download our free training materials, go to the banknote section on the Bank of England website.

  You work hard, don't let counterfeits be a cost to your business, your customers or your reputation.

How To Identify Counterfeit Bills

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