Money Not So Funny

RandomActOfKindness points us to a Peoria Journal-Star has a story today about a guy being detained at a fast food joint after his $10 bill flunked the new 'marker' test now being routinely administered by retailers.

PEORIA - When Scott Stanard ordered his usual sausage, egg and cheese
biscuit combo Monday morning, he got two policemen on the side.

Stanard said the staff at McDonald's, 3600 N. University St., called
police after he handed over a $10 bill that they said was a fake.

"I kept wondering why they weren't giving me any change," said Stanard,
who sat in the drive-thru lane in his work van for several minutes before
deciding to pull up and park.
"I knew I didn't do anything wrong - I got it
from Family Video," he said, more upset from the embarrassment, and the fact
that he didn't get his food.

Two officers arrived, talked to him and went in the restaurant to get
the alleged funny money.
"(The police) said it was old - a 1950s series $10
bill - and the markers they use don't work on old money," Stanard said.

Eric Pingolt, a U.S. Secret Service agent based in Springfield,
agreed.

Businesses often use a special marker on the bill to test whether the
cash they receive is legitimate. If the mark turns brown or black, it usually
indicates counterfeit money, otherwise it's the real thing.

But the markers are not 100 percent effective, Pingolt said, noting the
correct reaction may not occur with old money, or even some new money.

Pingolt recalled a Baltimore man being cuffed and arrested recently for
passing counterfeit $2 bills that later turned out to be genuine.

Who would bother counterfeiting a $2 bill? Gosh, it takes me back to my high school days (mid 70's) when change machines (for a brief time) would accept photocopied bills.

This story was of interest to me because it was just this weekend I noticed cashiers using the marker test. Maybe its because I hardly ever use cash. Anyway, two nights ago a cashier at a sporting goods store performed the test to my money again, so I asked what it was all about. She explained what she had done. But before this week I had no idea this was going on. After reading the Peoria story, I guess I'll stick to only using new bills....and leave my counterfeit $2's at home.