Ever since money was invented there have been people trying to fake it. That’s why it’s important for everyone to know how to spot a fake banknote.
And the best thing to do is to know by heart what genuine notes should look like. Here is our expert Lee Dobney.
Hello I’m Lee Dobney, I’m the head of notes division at the Bank of England.
And in the next few minutes, Lee will guide us through some key features to look out for in British banknotes.
Bank note is very different from ordinary paper because it’s made from cotton rather than wood pulp, so bank note paper has a unique feel.And also there’s the raised printing. So for instance, on the front of the note, that’s the side features the Queen’s portrait, if you run your fingers over the Bank of England sign, you can feel the raised print. And also in the bottom right hand corner you can also feel raised printing with the small twenties.
The second feature to look out for would be the watermark. Now that’s made during the paper making process and creates an image using thicker and thinner areas of paper. So on all our banknotes the image is of the Queen, and if you hold the note up to the light you can see the queen’s portrait.
The third security feature is the hologram. Now a hologram is the brightly coloured image which also shifts. So for instance, on the new twenty pound note design, there is a shift between the pound sign and the twenty, and also a very colourful image of Adam Smith, the economist and philosopher.
banknote:鈔票,紙幣
genuine note:真鈔
pulp:果肉,紙漿
portrait:畫(huà)像
watermark:水印
hologram:全息圖