Did you know you can't photocopy money?

[DoesntLeftoverTurkeySoupDragOn]

I don't mean because it's illegal, but because there's a sneaky thing on the notes that makes it actually impossible.

I have a wad of "motion picture only" fake dollar bills and wanted to cover a small table top. There weren't enough so I thought "Oh, I'll just copy some £20s" (yes, I know I shouldn't) only to find I physically couldn't.

Very clever!

You could take a photo and print it out

Oh, I can just copy the fake dollars.

I just thought it was so clever that there's a magic pattern that stops you copying real notes.

I’ve done it before.
Mind you, that was before the plastic notes.

They added a constellation in 1996 that is recognised by copier software.

(actually, that date might just be the US)

Very clever

Can you scan and print instead?

I think the scanner software would still recognise the constellation. My banknotes showed up on the preview screen but wouldn't print (nor would Singapore dollars)

Apparently you can't open a file of them in Photoshop either.

It's known as the EURion constellation. Here's the one on the £10.

Only because i tried to scan one at work (preschool) for the children to use in a shop, it got half way and stopped. So i tried again assuming the printer had broken! It only goes up to a certain point and then stops scanning! I was amazed how it knew! Very clever.

A play shop, not a real shop

Yes, I thought "how does it know??"

Now I'm wondering what would happen if I put the pattern onto something - would it scan... 🤔 I have too much time on my hands....

It’s illegal to laminate UK currency!
We used to use a Copy Shop who got a new laminator. They laminated some fivers & tenners and displayed them in the shop with some jokey captions about money laundering. After a few weeks, they had a visit from someone claiming to be from HM Treasury. They suspected a scam, but followed up on the guy’s ID to find that he was genuine. He confiscated the laminated notes. They subsequently received a letter from HM Treasury quoting chapter and verse regarding defacing of currency but no intention to prosecute on this occasion. However, they didn’t get the laminated notes back!

Oooh I didn't know this! Interesting!

I did photocopy a fiver once, pre 1996,
i was robbed at a night club, and they stole my fake fiver

Recent discovery for me as DS1 showed me a video about it. It also showed the photoshop thing too!!

Lots of currency have that star thing on them now!

there used to be something similar on driving licences...dh had to send in a photocopy and once copied it shows "COPY" on the print

there was a bit of a malarkey getting that understood.

What you can do is goggle an image, screen shot it, then print it out. V. convincing. And much better to teach notes with than the twinkl ones which say SAMPLE in great black letters across them. Illegal, but effective.

I was at university with someone who was arrested for faking bank notes in Japan. He’d used a colour photocopier.

That’s google not goggle, obvs.

Yes I found this out the other day! DS has a £50 note in a frame, and I wanted to copy it so he could stop have the frame (there's a message on it too) but it wouldn't scan!

I'm off to print off a google image.

It's known as the EURion constellation. Here's the one on the £10.

Is that something to do with the EU? Does that mean after Brexit we will be able to photocopy money for free? Hooray!

I knew that (but only because I am a trained printer - don’t ask...)

We have this when making money for theatre shows!