Altered star notes — ordinary bills doctored with a crudely added star symbol to mimic valuable replacement notes — represent one of the most persistent frauds in paper money collecting. This guide walks you through the authentication techniques, known alteration methods, and red flags that every collector must know before buying a star note.
Read More →Washed notes, created by chemically stripping genuine low-denomination bills and reprinting them as high-denomination currency, represent one of the most deceptive counterfeiting techniques ever devised. Understanding the forensic tells, historical context, and authentication methods behind washed notes is essential knowledge for every serious currency collector.
Read More →Modern Federal Reserve Notes are packed with tiny, often-overlooked security features that doubled as fascinating collectibles in their own right. This field guide walks you through every generation of microprinting on US currency, from its 1990 debut to today’s latest designs, with expert tips for spotting, attributing, and collecting these hidden details.
Read More →Counterfeit error notes are flooding the collector market, with fake misaligned overprints, shifted seals, and simulated ink smears deceiving even experienced buyers. This guide breaks down exactly how these fakes are made, what authentic printing errors actually look like, and the specific tests you can run before spending serious money on any error note.
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