How to spot the fake banknotes

Published Feb 7, 2005

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General features

- The watermark - shadow picture of an animal - embedded on the note is visible on the front left of the note when held up to the light. A denomination value has been added.

- When holding the banknote up to the light, an "R" is formed by a two-part print on both sides of the note.

- A security thread is on the front of the note as a silver line. Held up to the light it makes a solid dark line.

- On the R10 and R20 notes the thread remains two millimetre wide with the letters "SARB" and a denomination numeral.

- The R50, R100 and R200 notes now have a four-millimetre-wide security thread with the text "SARB" and "RAND", a denomination numeral and a holographic image of the coat-of-arms, which shows when the note is tilted.

- Every banknote has a unique serial number made up of letters and numbers. No two banknotes are the same.

Features you can feel

- A banknote has a distinctive sound and feel when flicked between the fingers. This comes from a combination of the cotton paper used and the intaglio, or raised printing, on the note.

Features you can see by tilting the note

- The denomination value on the R50, R100 and R200 notes is printed in colour-changing ink, on the front bottom right. It changes from green to gold on the R50 and R100 notes, and from magenta to green on the R200 note.

- The R50, R100 and R200 notes have a holographic coat-of-arms in the security thread.

- A shimmering gold band with the coat-of-arms and the denomination value appears on the back of all new notes.

- A hidden image is contained in the geometric shape on the front, which shows the denomination numeral.

- Features for the blind include a raised diamond on the middle of the note, at the bottom of the front. The diamond indicates the denomination, ie R10 - one diamond; R20 - two; R50 - three; R100 - four; and R200 - five.

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