Security printing is the field of the printing industry that deals with the printing of items such as banknotes, cheques, passports, tamper-evident labels, security tapes, product authentication, stock certificates, postage stamps and identity cards. The main goal of security printing is to prevent forgery, tampering, or counterfeiting. More recently many of the techniques used to protect these high-value documents have become more available to commercial printers, whether they are using the more traditional offset and flexographic presses or the newer digital platforms. Businesses are protecting their lesser-value documents such as transcripts, coupons and prescription pads by incorporating some of the features listed below to ensure that they cannot be forged or that alteration of the data cannot occur undetected.
Polymer banknotes are banknotes made from a synthetic polymer such as biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP). Such notes incorporate many security features not available in paper banknotes, including the use of metameric inks. Polymer banknotes last significantly longer than paper notes, causing a decrease in environmental impact and a reduced cost of production and replacement. Modern polymer banknotes were first developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and The University of Melbourne. They were first issued as currency in Australia during 1988 ; by 1996, the Australian dollar was switched completely to polymer banknotes. Romania was the first country in Europe to issue a plastic note in 1999 and became the third country after Australia and New Zealand to fully convert to polymer by 2003.
The Canadian $50 note is one of the most common banknotes of the Canadian dollar. It is sometimes dispensed by ATMs, but not as commonly as the $20 note.
The Canadian one-hundred-dollar note is one of five banknotes of the Canadian dollar. It is the highest-valued and least-circulated of the notes since the $1000 note was gradually removed from circulation starting in 2000.
Counterfeit money is currency produced without the legal sanction of the State or government, usually in a deliberate attempt to imitate that currency and so as to deceive its recipient. Producing or using counterfeit money is a form of fraud or forgery, and is illegal. The business of counterfeiting money is almost as old as money itself: plated copies have been found of Lydian coins, which are thought to be among the first Western coins. Before the introduction of paper money, the most prevalent method of counterfeiting involved mixing base metals with pure gold or silver. Another form of counterfeiting is the production of documents by legitimate printers in response to fraudulent instructions. During World War II, the Nazis forged British pounds and American dollars. Today some of the finest counterfeit banknotes are called Superdollars because of their high quality and imitation of the real US dollar. There has been significant counterfeiting of Euro banknotes and coins since the launch of the currency in 2002, but considerably less than that of the US dollar.
The Moroccan dirham is the official monetary currency of Morocco. It is issued by the Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of Morocco. One Moroccan dirham is subdivided into 100 centimes (cents).
The notes of the Australian dollar were first issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia on 14 February 1966, when Australia changed to decimal currency and replaced the pound with the dollar. This currency was a lot easier for calculating compared to the previous Australian pound worth 20 shillings or 240 pence.
Since 1867 there have been four successive currencies in Romania known as the leu. This article details the banknotes denominated in the leu and its subdivision the ban since 1917, with images.
The 500 krooni banknote is a denomination of the Estonian kroon, the former currency of Estonia. Carl Robert Jakobson (1841–1882), who was an Estonian politician, publisher, writer and promoter of agriculture, is featured on the front side of the bill, which is why the 500 krooni bill is often called a "Jakobson".
The 100 krooni banknote is a denomination of the Estonian kroon, the former currency of Estonia. Lydia Koidula (1843–1886), who was an Estonian poet and playwright, is featured on the front side of the banknote, which is why the 100 krooni banknote is often called a "Koidula".
New Zealand dollar banknotes are the banknotes in circulation in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Tokelau, Niue and the Pitcairn Islands, denominated in the New Zealand dollar. They are issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and since 1999 have been made of polymer.
The ten lei banknote is one of the circulating denomination of the Romanian leu. It is the same size as the 20 Euro banknote.
Banknotes of the euro, the currency of the euro area and institutions, have been in circulation since the first series was issued in 2002. They are issued by the national central banks of the Eurosystem or the European Central Bank. In 1999 the euro was introduced virtually, and in 2002 notes and coins began to circulate. The euro rapidly took over from the former national currencies and slowly expanded around the European Union.
The five euro note (€5) is the lowest value euro banknote and has been used since the introduction of the euro in 2002. The note is used in the 25 countries which have it as their sole currency ; with a total population of about 343 million currently. In November 2021, there were approximately 2,013,000,000 five euro banknotes in circulation around the eurozone. It is the fifth most widely circulated denomination, accounting for 7.3% of the total banknotes. Estimates suggest that the average life of a five euro banknote is less than a year before it is replaced due to wear.
The ten euro note (€10) is the second-lowest value euro banknote and has been used since the introduction of the euro in 2002. The note is used in the 23 countries which have it as their sole currency ; with a population of about 343 million. In November 2021, there were approximately 2,822,000,000 ten euro banknotes in circulation around the eurozone. It is the fourth most widely circulated denomination, accounting for 10.2% of the total banknotes. Estimates suggest that the average life of a ten euro banknote is about 1.5 years before it is replaced due to wear.
The twenty euro note (€20) is the third-lowest value euro banknote and has been used since the introduction of the euro in 2002. The note is used by the 23 countries and a population of 343 million as their sole currency, with 22 legally adopting it. In November 2021, there were approximately 4,527,000,000 twenty euro banknotes in circulation around the eurozone. It is the second most widely circulated denomination, accounting for 16.4% of the total banknotes. Estimates suggest that the average life of a twenty euro banknote is about two years before it is replaced due to wear.
The fifty euro note (€50) is one of the middle value euro banknotes and has been used since the introduction of the euro in 2002. The note is used by some 343 million Europeans and in the 23 countries which have the euro as their sole currency. In November 2021, there were about 13,444,000,000 fifty euro banknotes in circulation in the eurozone. It is by far the most widely circulated denomination, accounting for almost half (48.6%) of the total banknotes. Estimates suggest that the average life of a fifty euro banknote is about four years before it is replaced due to wear.
The New Zealand ten-dollar note is a New Zealand banknote. It is issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and since 1999 has been a polymer banknote. It was first issued on 10 July 1967 when New Zealand decimalised its currency, changing from the New Zealand pound to the New Zealand dollar. The ten-dollar note originally had an image of Queen Elizabeth II on the front; since 1993 it has had an image of suffragist Kate Sheppard.
The Frontier series is the seventh series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar released by the Bank of Canada, first circulated in 2011. The polymer banknotes were designed for increased durability and to incorporate more security features over the preceding 2001 Canadian Journey series. The notes feature images that focus on historic Canadian achievements and innovation. Printed on polymer, the 2011 Frontier series was the first series issued by the Bank of Canada printed on a material other than paper. The 2011 Frontier series was followed by the 2018 series.
A diffractive optically variable image device (DOVID) is a type of optical variable device; a security feature based on visual effects created by diffraction. DOVIDs are incorporated in government-issued documents of value to increase their counterfeit resistance. Brand protection is another application of DOVIDs. DOVIDs contain micro- or nanostructures in the form of diffractive gratings. Due to these structures, they exhibit optically variable effects such as dynamic chromatic, holographic, and kinematic effects, two- or three-dimensional images or color-changing effects, which ideally are easily recognized, but are difficult to reproduce. Well known examples of DOVIDs are holograms such as 2D or 3D or 2D/3D holograms based on mask illumination, dot matrix or e-beam origination technology and Kinegrams.
