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10 Banknotes From Around the World, and Their Security Features

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The history of counterfeiting is almost as extensive as the history of money itself.

It’s said that even the first electrum coins in Lydia were regularly faked, and coming across counterfeit coins in Ancient Rome was a daily occurrence. Roman Emperors, like other rulers, also famously did their own counterfeiting, debasing the metal in coins and trying to pass them off as having higher value.

The problem of funny money remained an issue for society even thousands of years later. For example, at the start of the U.S. Civil War in 1861 – when banks still issued their own currencies – it was estimated that half of the banknotes in circulation were forgeries.

Banknote Security Features

And as we move towards a more digital world, the cat and mouse games between authorities and counterfeiters continues.

Today’s infographic comes to us from TitleMax and it details 10 popular banknotes from around the world, including the anti-counterfeiting measures that have been taken for each note.

Banknote Security Features

Through centuries of collective experience, advances in technology, and many episodes of trial and error, the latest fiat banknotes have impressive security features that blow previous generations out of the water.

Common Security Features Used

Many national mints have adopted similar anti-counterfeiting technologies for their banknotes:

Plastic money: In Canada, authorities were starting to find 470 counterfeits for every one million legitimate banknotes that existed – a rate almost 10x as high as other G20 countries. In light of this problem, the Bank of Canada recently introduced polymer notes that make counterfeiting considerably more difficult.

Polymer banknotes were pioneered in Australia in 1988, and like Canada, many countries have made the switch to polymer including the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Chile, New Zealand, and Mexico.

Holograms: More than 300 denominations in 97 currencies use holograms for protection, making them one of the most common security features globally. They can be incorporated into designs by the way of security threads, stripes, patches and window features.

Watermarks: One of the most common security features, watermarks are created by using different thicknesses of paper in the printing process. When hit with light, an image will be illuminated.

Microtext: Tiny text, which can only be read with a magnifying glass, is a common safety feature on many bills globally.

Color-changing features: Roughly 42% of banknotes issued since 2011 use color-changing features in which parts of the note change color to the viewer depending on the angle.

Security thread: Many notes use this security feature, which consists of a thin ribbon that is threaded through the note’s paper.

Invisible marks: Notes can also incorporate ink or markings that are only visible in fluorescent or infrared light, making them invisible to the naked eye.

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Money

Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve

Public trust in the Federal Reserve chair has hit its lowest point in 20 years. Get the details in this infographic.

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The Briefing

  • Gallup conducts an annual poll to gauge the U.S. public’s trust in the Federal Reserve
  • After rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust has fallen to a 20-year low

 

Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve

Each year, Gallup conducts a survey of American adults on various economic topics, including the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.

More specifically, respondents are asked how much confidence they have in the current Fed chairman to do or recommend the right thing for the U.S. economy. We’ve visualized these results from 2001 to 2023 to see how confidence levels have changed over time.

Methodology and Results

The data used in this infographic is also listed in the table below. Percentages reflect the share of respondents that have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence.

YearFed chair% Great deal or Fair amount
2023Jerome Powell36%
2022Jerome Powell43%
2021Jerome Powell55%
2020Jerome Powell58%
2019Jerome Powell50%
2018Jerome Powell45%
2017Janet Yellen45%
2016Janet Yellen38%
2015Janet Yellen42%
2014Janet Yellen37%
2013Ben Bernanke42%
2012Ben Bernanke39%
2011Ben Bernanke41%
2010Ben Bernanke44%
2009Ben Bernanke49%
2008Ben Bernanke47%
2007Ben Bernanke50%
2006Ben Bernanke41%
2005Alan Greenspan56%
2004Alan Greenspan61%
2003Alan Greenspan65%
2002Alan Greenspan69%
2001Alan Greenspan74%

Data for 2023 collected April 3-25, with this statement put to respondents: “Please tell me how much confidence you have [in the Fed chair] to recommend the right thing for the economy.”

We can see that trust in the Federal Reserve has fluctuated significantly in recent years.

For example, under Alan Greenspan, trust was initially high due to the relative stability of the economy. The burst of the dotcom bubble—which some attribute to Greenspan’s easy credit policies—resulted in a sharp decline.

On the flip side, public confidence spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was likely due to Jerome Powell’s decisive actions to provide support to the U.S. economy throughout the crisis.

Measures implemented by the Fed include bringing interest rates to near zero, quantitative easing (buying government bonds with newly-printed money), and emergency lending programs to businesses.

Confidence Now on the Decline

After peaking at 58%, those with a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the Fed chair have tumbled to 36%, the lowest number in 20 years.

This is likely due to Powell’s hard stance on fighting post-pandemic inflation, which has involved raising interest rates at an incredible speed. While these rate hikes may be necessary, they also have many adverse effects:

  • Negative impact on the stock market
  • Increases the burden for those with variable-rate debts
  • Makes mortgages and home buying less affordable

Higher rates have also prompted many U.S. tech companies to shrink their workforces, and have been a factor in the regional banking crisis, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Gallup (2023)

Data Notes: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted April 3-25, 2023, with a random sample of –1,013—adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See source for details.

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