Almost got burned at a flea market in Phoenix...

I was selling some old tools there last month, and a guy offered me $200 cash for the whole lot. He pulled out a stack of bills that felt... off, like the paper was too smooth. I asked to check them under my phone light, and sure enough, the security strip was missing from every single one. I just walked away from the deal on the spot. Has anyone else run into fake cash at a local sale spot?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark_thomas1mo ago

Glad you caught that before it was too late. I always check the collar on the president's portrait for the fine ridges you can feel with your nail. The pen testers can be fooled, but that texture is hard to fake. Makes you carry a small magnifying glass now just to be safe.

mark_thomas1mo ago

Yeah, the texture thing is a dead giveaway. I got a fake twenty once that just felt wrong, like printer paper. Now I always do the scratch test on the shoulder of the jacket, right by the collar. If those little ridges aren't there, it's no good. I also hold smaller bills up to the sky to check for the watermark. You can't be too careful with cash deals anymore.

dakota_nelson431mo ago

Saw a news story about fake bills being passed at swap meets out west. They said the color-shifting ink on real bills is a good thing to look for. That texture thing is a solid tip though.