Security Features: Embedded Threads


Hold up your paper bills to the light and, depending on the denomination, you will immediately see one or two vertical lines within the banknote. They are there as security features to make it very difficult for counterfeiters to imitate real currency. Likewise, they are there to help you differentiate the counterfeit from the genuine.

Embedded security thread

The embedded security thread is a special thread vertically implanted off center of the note during the manufacture of the banknote paper. This can easily be seen when the note is viewed against the light. It appears as a broken line for 5’s, 10’s and 20’s and straight line for 50’s, 100’s, 200’s , 500’s and 1000’s. Try folding the banknote along this line and you will feel the distinct stiffness of the thread. With some determination, it is also possible to manually remove these threads from the banknotes - but don't do that! It's illegal.

On the photo above, the embedded security thread is the solid vertical line on the left.

Windowed Colorshift with Cleartext Security Thread
This is a 1.4 mm security thread vertically located like “stitches” at the face of the note. It changes in color from magenta to green or green to magenta depending on the angle of view. When viewed against the light, it appears as a single solid line and the corresponding denomination of the banknote will show through. This security feature is only present in the 100s, 500s, and newer 1000-peso bills.

8 comments:

lunaticg said...

Hi!
love to learn about new security features in a new banknote. I has few Philipine peso in my collection. will put their story in my blog later.

See You around.

Anonymous said...

how about in the coins, how you may know if it's counterfeit or not?

Anonymous said...

lahat po ba ng peso bills may security thread? paano po ung mga gawa 1990 hanggang 1999?

StudentPolitician said...

I am hoping that you will also do a feature on security features present in older banknotes for collectors such as myself.

Danner said...

when i was a lot younger, i though the security thread contained the gold value of the currency (i.e. it was P100 worth of gold). I colected several of these -- less than 50 i think -- over a span of time thinking to melt them and get a gold bar!

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hayudini indanan said...

ANO PO ANG SECURITY FEATURES NG 500PESOS JAPANESE GOVERNMENT, 2PESOS VICTORY SERIES, 1PESOS VICTORY SERIES OVERPRINT CENTRAL OF THE PHILIPPINES?

Anonymous said...

ask ko lang if there are individuals interested to buy such bank notes 100 pesoVICTORY ,JUNE13,1922...