Willemstad / Philipsburg – The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS) has established that there are currently fake 100 guilders banknotes in circulation in Curaçao. These notes are of extremely good quality and almost indistinguishable from real ones.
After analyzing the counterfeits, the CBCS concludes that the most striking features of these counterfeits are:
– The paper used to make the counterfeit banknotes feels thicker, stiffer and coarser compared to the paper of a real banknote.
– A real banknote contains the shadow watermark (the logo of the CBCS), which can be recognized by a gradient of shades lighter and darker than the paper around it when the banknote is held up to the light. The relief of the shadow watermark can also be seen if a real banknote is kept flat. You can also feel the relief. You can check the watermark by placing a piece of thin paper on the watermark and then over it with a soft pencil. If the outlines of the shadow watermark do not appear, the note is suspicious.
– The letters N and A must fit together accurately on a real ticket. You can discover this by holding the ticket up to the light. The letter N on the front fits exactly in the letter A on the back and therefore forms an image. For counterfeit notes, the letters N and A often do not fit exactly (in this case, there are spaces where the letter must match).
– A tactile ink layer has been applied at various places on the front. For example the value indication in figures, the texts and the bird. You can also feel the identification mark for the visually impaired in the front right corner of the ticket.
– The gold strip on the front of a real banknote is shiny and has a (lighter) golden yellow color in the white part of the banknote, while the golden strip of a counterfeit banknote is matte in color and has a dark golden brown color in the white part.
– The ink of the lowercase letters of the text included in the block on the back of the banknote is somewhat lighter and has the effect of changing color (light to some dark color) while the ink of the text on a counterfeit banknote darker from color and has (virtually) no transition of color. The small texts can be read clearly on the real notes. At the
counterfeit banknotes, these (lowercase) letters are often less sharp and therefore less legible.
– The bird on the front of the banknote and the logo of the Bank on the back of the banknote are also printed on a counterfeit banknote with a darker ink.
– The counterfeit banknotes have virtually no planchettes (glitter). On a real banknote, the planchettes change color as you turn the banknote in different ways.
– When placing a line on a counterfeit banknote with a “counterfeit money pen”, the pen marks a black / brown line on the banknote, whereas this is not the case on a real banknote.
– The border on the underside of the counterfeit banknote is wider than that of a real banknote.
The CBCS asks the public to be alert and to check a note, in particular 100 guilder notes, before you accept it. If you have serious doubts about the authenticity of a banknote, you are advised to refuse it and to engage the police. More information about the security features of our banknotes can be found on the CBCS website under the heading Education or by following the link https://www.centralbank.cw/education/videos/securityfeatures-of-banknotes.
Perhaps unnecessarily, the CBCS draws your attention to the fact that no person and / or institution may accept counterfeit banknotes. Counterfeit money or deliberate payment with counterfeit money is punishable by nine years’ imprisonment.
