You're standing at a busy register, the line is wrapping around the frozen food aisle, and someone hands you a crisp Benjamin. It feels okay. Maybe a little stiff? Or is it too smooth? You squint at Benjamin Franklin’s face, and suddenly, you realize you aren't actually sure what does a fake 100 dollar bill look like when it's sitting right in front of you. Most people think counterfeit money looks like Monopoly cash or something printed on a home inkjet with blurry edges.
Honestly? That’s rarely the case anymore.
Modern counterfeiters are sophisticated, but they usually fail at the textures and the "living" security features that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing spends billions to perfect. If you've ever wondered why cashiers spend so much time staring at that blue ribbon or rubbing the bill with their thumb, it’s because the U.S. dollar is less like a piece of paper and more like a high-tech fabric.
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Real money isn't paper. It’s a blend of 75% cotton and 25% linen. This gives it a distinct "snap" when you pull it taut. Fake bills are almost always printed on wood-pulp paper. Over time, that paper gets soft and "waxy." If you've got a bill that feels like a page from a high-end magazine or a standard sheet of Xerox paper, you’re likely holding a fake.
But the real giveaway is the raised printing.
Take your fingernail and run it along Benjamin Franklin’s shoulder. On a genuine $100 note, you’ll feel distinct ridges. This is the result of the intaglio printing process, where massive pressure pushes the paper into the recessed lines of an engraved plate. It's incredibly hard to replicate with standard commercial printers. Most counterfeiters just can't get that tactile "sandpaper" feel on the jacket. If the portrait feels as flat as a digital photo, it's a massive red flag.
The Blue Ribbon That Actually Moves
Since 2013, the "New 100" has been the standard. Its most famous feature is the 3D Security Ribbon. This is that thick blue stripe woven—not printed—into the center of the bill.
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When you tilt the bill, look closely at the little bells and the number 100 inside that ribbon. They move. If you tilt the bill back and forth, the bells turn into 100s. If you tilt it side to side, they move up and down.
Here is the kicker: that ribbon is woven into the paper fibers. On a fake, the ribbon is usually just printed on top of the surface. You can sometimes even see the edges of the "ribbon" peeling off if it’s a low-quality wash. If those bells don't shift positions when you move the bill, give it back. It’s a dud.
Color-Shifting Ink and the "Disappearing" Bell
Look at the large copper-colored inkwell to the right of Franklin. Inside that inkwell is a green bell. When you tilt the bill, that bell is supposed to change color from copper to green, making it seem to disappear and reappear within the inkwell.
Similarly, the large "100" in the bottom right corner does the same color-shift dance.
What does a fake 100 dollar bill look like in this area? Usually, it's just a sparkly gold or green glitter paint. It might shine, but it won't shift. Real color-shifting ink is proprietary technology that is strictly regulated. Counterfeiters often try to mimic this with metallic markers or iridescent eyeshadow (seriously), but it never has that crisp, fluid transition from one distinct color to another.
The Watermark: Don't Get Fooled by the Ghost
Hold the bill up to a light. You should see a faint image of Benjamin Franklin in the white space to the right of the portrait. It’s visible from both sides.
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A common trick for counterfeiters is to print a light gray version of the face onto the back of the bill. To an untrained eye in a dark bar, it looks like a watermark. But a real watermark isn't "on" the paper; it’s in the paper.
Check these three things to verify a watermark:
- It should be a masterpiece of shading, not a flat gray outline.
- It should only be visible when light passes through it.
- It must look exactly like the main portrait of Franklin.
If the "watermark" face looks like a weird cartoon version of Ben, or if you can see it clearly without holding it up to a light, you’re looking at a counterfeit.
The Microprinting Mystery
If you have a magnifying glass—or just really good vision—look at Franklin’s jacket collar. You should see the words "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" in tiny, perfect letters. There is also microprinting on the gold quill and along the borders of the bill.
To a digital scanner, these tiny letters look like a solid line or a series of blurry dots. Real $100 bills have lines so sharp they look like they were drawn by a needle. If the "text" looks like a bunch of smudges under a lens, the bill is a fake produced by a standard inkjet or laser printer.
The "Bleached" Bill: The Most Dangerous Fake
Sometimes, a fake bill is actually real paper.
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Criminals take a real $1 bill or $5 bill and soak it in chemicals to "bleach" the ink off. They then print a $100 image onto the authentic, linen-cotton paper. This is why the "counterfeit pen" you see at grocery stores is often useless. Those pens react to the starch in wood-based paper. Since the bleached bill is real currency paper, the pen will show a "pass" color.
To catch a bleached bill, you have to look at the security thread.
Every denomination has a vertical thread embedded in the paper. On a $100 bill, that thread is to the left of the portrait and glows pink under UV light. If you hold a "100" up to the light and the security thread says "USA FIVE" or "USA TWENTY," someone has up-printed the bill. The watermark will also give it away—you'll see Abraham Lincoln’s face on a bill that claims to be a hundred.
What to Do If You Spot One
If you find yourself holding a fake, do not try to pass it off to someone else. That is a felony, even if you weren't the one who made it.
First, try to remember who gave it to you. If it happened at a business, ask to speak to a manager immediately. If you've already left the scene, contact your local police department or the U.S. Secret Service. They don't just protect the President; their original job was (and is) protecting the integrity of our currency.
Handle the bill as little as possible. Put it in an envelope. This preserves any fingerprints or DNA that might be on the note, which helps investigators track the source.
Actionable Steps for Verification
To stay safe, follow this quick 3-second ritual for every $100 bill you touch:
- Feel the vest: Run your thumb over Franklin's shoulder. Feel for the ridges.
- Check the ribbon: Tilt it to see the bells and 100s move in the blue stripe.
- Hunt the watermark: Hold it to the light to ensure the "ghost" Ben matches the "real" Ben.
- Inspect the inkwell: Ensure the bell inside the copper inkwell shifts from copper to green.
By focusing on these physical, high-tech features rather than just "how the bill looks," you'll be able to spot a fake in seconds, regardless of how good the printing looks on the surface.