Counterfeit Australian Money - Fake $10 Note

Well today was an interesting day. When Boyter, Greg & myself went out for lunch today, everything seemed normal... until Greg decided to buy some hot chips for lunch.
He tries to pay for the chips with a $10 note and they don't accept it. Weird we thought, so I had to lend him $3 in coins hoping they would accept that. Turns out the $10 note was fake!

Now I always thought the Aussie dollar was pretty hard to copy, and I suppose it is, but this proves it's seriously possible. The fake note was picked up by Greg at a train station as change for buying a train ticket and
it appears it was discovered due to the bleeding of the ink through the note (the "10" from the reverse side is clearly visible when it shouldn't be) as well as the dark ink falling off the note in places you wouldn't expect - ie where people don't usually fold the money).

If you have a look at the pics attached to this blog (down the bottom), see if you can tell which one is the counterfeit note. At first glance it is quite hard to tell (putting them side-by-side makes it really easy) because most of the
things we are used to seeing are present:

  • Colour - mostly right
  • Little window piece - check
  • Watermark - check
  • Tiny writing (courtesy of Mr Banjo Paterson) - check
  • Signatures - check
  • Printed on a single piece of plastic - check

Two small differences are highlighted on closer inspection - the words of the person's name (Banjo Paterson or Mary Gilmore) are missing on the fake one and also
the signatures from the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Secretary to the Treasurer are both different AND in a different order - but that could just be because the fake one is based on an older note?

I decided to capture a low resolution copy of the fake one before Greg hands it into the authorities just for interests sake - to prove that counterfeit notes are OUT THERE and in circulation - even if it is only in $10 amounts! So have a look below and see if you can tell which one is the fake note and which one is the real note.

You have been warned!

Comments

Hey there Nisch, Do you mind if I post this link on my facebook

Hey there Nisch,
Do you mind if I post this link on my facebook page to warn my friends and family?
Cheers, Dish.

nisch's picture

Hey Dish Go ahead mate! Nisch

Hey Dish
Go ahead mate!
Nisch

Thanks mate :o)

Thanks mate :o)

Hi, I think we have one of these. If you have a look at the bott

Hi, I think we have one of these. If you have a look at the bottom, it does not say A B BANJOY PATERSON and the signature in the top left hand side is wrong!! Looks identical to the one you have posted and we are in WA... What do you think??

nisch's picture

Hi Simone. I think the older version of the note does not have t

Hi Simone. I think the older version of the note does not have the names printed under the images, so it is not a sign of a fake. Can you see the big "10" coming through to the over side of the note? Have you handed the note in? Nisch

just did the banking for work and found one exactly like your on

just did the banking for work and found one exactly like your one. so they are still circulating

I Just got one the same as yours last night 11/4/10 but the ink

I Just got one the same as yours last night 11/4/10 but the ink on the 10 has really gone through, so there still out there ...

Sorry Guys the 1993 & 1994 $10 note were originally printed in w

Sorry Guys the 1993 & 1994 $10 note were originally printed in what NPA call "Blue Dobell" ink. Unfortunately it was not stable on the new polymer note & resulted in substantial transferance from one note to the other. The most obvious being the "ghost" 10 on the subsequent note. The ink was changed to "grey dobell" subsequently & while little real colour difference is apparant the new ink proved much more stable & all subsequent $10 were printed in the new colour.
So if its a '93 or '94 note it is NOT counterfit!
For more info refer to "Australian Coins & Banknotes" by Greg McDonald. PO Box 649 Lavington Vic.

nisch's picture

Hi AlanS. Thanks for the info - however, this note had a differe

Hi AlanS. Thanks for the info - however, this note had a different texture to a 'real' one (it felt rougher) and as you can see from the scans, the colours are also off across the entire note, including the large "10". Can you explain this?

Add new comment

  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.