ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press RICHMOND
CARRY A PICTURE of Benjamin Franklin in your wallet? Better check it carefully.
Counterfeit $100 bills have been passed in Chesterfield County, Hopewell, and Petersburg, Secret Service special agent Ronald Shell of Richmond said Thursday.
So far 14 copies of the new bill with its oversized portrait of Benjamin Franklin have been successfully spent, primarily at grocery stores, fast food places with drive-up windows, convenience stores and discount outlets - places where people hurry in and out, Shell said.
The bills look real to the untrained eye, and they feel real, but there are many differences, Shell said.
Clerks need to learn how to detect the fake bills, he said.
``The watermark portrait of Benjamin Franklin, only visible when the bill is held up to the light, is missing ... and the polymer thread on the left side should read USA 100,'' he said. ``It can't be reproduced using the methods by which these bills are reproduced.''
Shell said the bills were printed using some kind of computer, computer scanner, full-color copier or color printer.
Shell said the red and blue hairlike fibers visible in all U.S. currency should also be visible in the new $100 bills.
The real notes have ink in the lower right-hand corner that appears to change color from light green to black when the bill is viewed at an angle.
``I think what we're dealing with here as much as anything else is an educational issue - instructing the community and business people what to look for,'' he said.
The counterfeit bills all have the same serial number AE31554916A. They have the Federal Reserve number E5, face plate number D104 and back plate number 34.
Shell said descriptions of the suspects vary. ``They've been black and white, male and female,'' he said. ``We don't have anyone in custody, we've not made any arrests,'' he said.
The Franklin bill was first released March 25 and was the first distinctly different note in U.S. currency since 1928. It had been touted as virtually counterfeit-proof.
``This is the first time [they've been passed] in our district and the first time in the state, to my knowledge,'' Shell said.
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