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Coin profiles

CARE! THESE ARE THE MOST COUNTERFEIT COINS

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CARE! THESE ARE THE MOST COUNTERFEIT COINS

The counterfeiting of money is a problem as old as the appearance of it. Despite improved security mechanisms, criminals are also upgrading to circumvent even the most sophisticated technologies.

Among the most used systems to combat banknote counterfeiting are details such as very fine drawings, special colors, watermarks, and holographic elements, among others. Even so, in recent years, cases of perfect imitations of bills or coins are well known.

READ MORE: “15 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT PAKISTANI CURRENCIES“

One of these were the so-called “super dollars”, which circulated in the 1990s and 2000s, and which went virtually undetected. Of course, there are coins that tend to be more susceptible to counterfeiting than others. These are the five most counterfeited coins in the world.

THE RANKING OF THE MOST COUNTERFEIT COINS IN THE WORLD

CANADIAN DOLLAR

The fifth most counterfeited currency in the world is the Canadian dollar. Although the country has been using plastic banknotes since 2011, made of a polypropylene substrate, fraudsters have found a way to convincingly replicate the security measures.

CANADIAN DOLLAR

CHINESE YUAN

It is followed by the Chinese yuan, which is the most numerous and used currency in the world, since almost 1.5 billion people live in China. It is also one of the most falsified. Among the security measures that stand out the most from the 100 yuan bills is that it has an ink that changes color according to the angle at which it receives light.

CHINESE YUAN

 

READ MORE: “THE COINS OF THE SULTANS OF BENGAL“

INDIAN RUPEE

Another of the most widely circulated coins tukif, and therefore with the most imitations, is the Indian rupee. Although the government decided in 2016 to remove the 500 and 1000 rupee notes from circulation in a desperate attempt against corruption, the measure has not been entirely effective.

MEXICAN PESO

The second currency that suffers the most counterfeiting is the Mexican peso, according to figures from the National Bank. This same entity ensures that the most replicated bill is the 500-peso bill, and although they have tried to raise awareness among the population, counterfeiting continues its course.

MEXICAN PESO

AMERICAN DOLLAR

And the top spot, of course, goes to the US dollar. It is not surprising since it is not only one of the currencies with the highest circulation, but it is also one of the most stable and with the highest value. The most counterfeited denomination are the 20 bills and most of these are made in foreign countries, such as Peru.

AMERICAN DOLLAR

HOW TO DETECT FAKE COINS?

There are several ways to spot counterfeit bills and coins. Okay, to the specialist Eneas Mares, coin collectors, these are several characteristics to take into account:

  • The magnet trick: If you pass a magnet, and the coin sticks to it, it means that it is made of ferrous elements.
  • This occurs with many Morgan dollar coins.
  • Coin edges: Counterfeit coins often have fused edges around the piece, and can even be seen with the naked eye.
  • Porosity or holes: Since counterfeiters do not have the planchets that the mints have, so sometimes they present poor marks or melting in the field.
  • Strange or Altered Markings: Counterfeit coins may lack distinctive markings or have altered, or rare, dates.
  • Measurement: Sometimes the measurement of counterfeit coins is different. You can find out the weight, thickness, and diameter on the official pages of the coins of each country, such as the Bank of Mexico.

 

 

 

Interesting facts

Interesting Facts about the Euro

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In the arena of international trade and commerce the importance of the European countries never declined since the early days of the capitalist economy i.e. roughly from the 16th century. Certainly they faced major setbacks with the emergence of the United States of America in the twentieth century. Still the importance of the European economies is immense in the capitalist world order. The Euro is the common currency of several of these countries. Here we have prepared a list of 12 must-be-known facts about the Euro.

  1. Talks about a common currency for all the European countries were in the air since the 1970s. It was the result of the long process of drawing a common European economic space which started after the conclusion of the World War II with active American assistance. One of the major steps was taken in the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht which laid down certain rules for the member countries to follow in order to be included in the club of the countries using the Euro.
  2. Before the physical circulation of the Euro, it was introduced as a medium of electronic payments in 1st January, 1999. The first notes of Euro came into circulation in 1st January, 2002.
  3. It was introduced in 12 countries at the first instance. The first countries to adopt Euro were Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Finland, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Ireland, France, and The Netherlands.
  4. Later several other countries joined the club of Euro users. This included Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
  5. The Euro is denoted by the symbol €. €1 is further divided into 100 cent. The symbol came from the Greek alphabet ‘epsilon’ with two parallel horizontal lines crossing the middle of the alphabet.
  6. Coins of 1 cent, 2 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, €1, and €2 are available. The reverse of the Euro coins is same throughout the Eurozone. They carried the denomination of the coin and a map of Europe on the reverse. But the obverse is different since the particular issuing country inscribed different symbols according to their choice. However, they can be used in any of the countries recognizing Euro.
  7. The Euro coins are endowed with High-security-machine-readable features in order to avoid the circulation of fake coins. Some of the low valued coins are made of Nordic Gold- an alloy specifically made to construct coins.
  8. The currency notes also come in different denominations starting from €5. The highest value of the currency note in circulation is €500. The denominations are written on the notes in three different scripts- Greek, Roman, and Cyrillic.
  9. The notes of different denominations are printed in different colors. €5 comes in grey, €10 is printed in red, €20 in blue, €50 in orange, €100 in green, €200 in yellow, and €500 comes in purple.
  10. The currency notes are of uniform design across the Eurozone unlike the Euro coins.  The notes of different denominations carry the picture of a particular European building printed on them.
  11. The central authority to supervise the monetary policy according to which the Euro is issued is the European Central Bank (ECB) with its headquarters situated in Frankfurt, Germany. The Eurosystem, a conglomerate of the different central banks of the Euro using countries, supervise the minting, printing, and distribution of the coins and currencies.
  12. The Euro is a greatly valued currency in the global economic sphere. Only the US $ surpasses the € in importance in international trade and currency reserve of different countries.
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Interesting facts & discoveries about coins

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Finally found: the ancient Heraklion
«Lights of history», that’s how Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, a universal savant from Zurich in the 18th century, called coins. What fingerprints are for criminal investigations, that’s what coins are for historians: a medium for identification, a way to light up unknown and clandestine things.
The information on coins is currently pivotal in a spectacular case. According to recent reports, French aquanaut Frank Goddio has found a sensational trove: the ancient Heraklion. He found this immersed town not off shore from Crete, but more in the south of the Mediterranean, near the Egypt town of Alexandria. Besides a well-preserved and lettered stele, which provides information about its habitat, there have been three broken statues. Two of them can now be identified due to comparisons with coins from the 1st millennium BC.

The Euro – just a holiday love affair?
«Nordic Gold», that’s the name of the alloy the Euro-coins are made of. A cool name for an object heating presently so many minds.
Thus, will the new money ever be loved? Scarcely in this year, as Hans Eichel – at the time Federal Chancellor of the Exchequer of Germany – said. But next year, so he continued, this will change. Then the people will hold the new bills and coins in the hand – and then the people will realize that there is no more need for changing money for a holiday in Europe.
Well, the Chancellor of Exchequer will be right on both accounts. But he forgot that it will also be possible to compare all prices throughout Europe. And then, the holiday love affair may break off in the one or the other case. As it happens so often …

It is always springtime for counterfeiters
Should you plan to travel to one of the Euro-land countries in the months ahead, make sure you take a careful look at all bills and coins you get there. First, those currencies will be redeemed shortly, and secondly, they might be counterfeits!
In fact, counterfeiters don’t need any spring. Their «flowers» always blossom. Especially now, at the time of the biggest exchange of currencies in European history! That will mean that previous counterfeits will become worthless shortly – a good reason for counterfeiters to bring their counterfeits into circulation, especially among the tourists. Which tourist knows exactly how the real bill looks like? But it’s well worth looking carefully.
A currency union is a good way to make life miserable for counterfeiters. But not even the EURO is safe from them. The individual member states are free to design the front side of any euro coin themselves. That guarantees diversity, but also cracks in the security system.
Spectacular findings on the Atlantis-myth
Atlantis was a mythical and lost city even at the times of Plato in ancient Greece. That hasn’t changed up to our days. However, the riddle seems to be solved as a result of the new, spectacular exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany. The thesis worked out by Zurich-based archaeologist Eberhard Zangger: Atlantis is nothing else than Troja at the northern border of today’s Turkey. The probably oldest city tale appears to be lifted, finally.
But is it really? Read more about it in the article «The Battle for Troja» (so far in German only) and Zangger’s home-page – it is a fight among the titans of archaeology on a subject which is thousands of years old.

Garbage money
On the first of January 2002 Euro banknotes and coins will be put into circulation. Until that time 14.5 billion Euro banknotes must be manufactured at a staggering cost of 600 billion Deutsch marks. Ten billion bills need to be exchanged for the old national banknotes.
Starting in 2002 Europeans will finally get their hands on the Euro. One years grace is given to say goodbye to old Deutsch mark and carry it to the grave. But are they really simply going to be buried in the garden? According to plan the Landeszentralbank (State Central Bank) of Munich will not just destroy of 2.8 billion notes. After all, if the notes were laid one on top of the other it would create a tower 323 kilometers high weighing 700,000 tons.
Yet, even though coins can simply be melted and the metal separated, the cotton fibers in paper money make it much more complicated to recycle.