Are the new counterfeits the perfect clone?

With more attempts being made at perfection it seems that the new crop of counterfeiters are becoming more precise in getting the "Queen Betty's" cloned. On Friday, the Central Bank issued an advisory that counterfeit notes are presently in circulation in denominations of 10's, 20's and 50's and advised the business community to be on the look out. As we found out it will take more than regular vigilance to spot these new set of duplicate dollars as what was once considered to be inimitable has been the reason for many businesses being taken in: Indira Craig, Reporting Can you tell which of these twenty dollar bills is fake and which one is real? If you can't you aren't alone, most people can't. The new breed of counterfeit is so masterful that it has the watermark of George Gabb's sculpture "The Sleeping Giant" - and bears the distinctive silver thread embedded in it as well. While the Central Bank is the formal authority - the street authority is Mario Muncho Galvez who's got 190 dollars of counterfeit notes, branded with 5 different serial numbers. He's not collecting them, he's stuck with them; they were slipped over the counter at his nightclub, MJ's Grand, passing as legal tender: Mario Galvez Club Owner This money is much better than the counterfeit that used to circulate first. This is very good. And while Galvez has five different serial numbers, the Central Bank - has 10 notes with only two different serial numbers. They first became aware of the funny money two weeks ago - and the species specialists concede it's the best they've seen: Duane Davis, Manager of Finance, Central Bank The notes on the face of it look very good especially since if you hold it up to the light you can see the watermark, or what purports to be the watermark. So on the face of it, the notes look very good. So good - that the experts at the Central Bank can't tell how the counterfeiters pulled off the copy complete with the sleeping giant watermark - that up until now was considered "uncopiable" Indira Craig: How is it possible that the notes have the watermark in them? Duane Davis, Central Bank Okay again, as I said, we are awaiting word from our printers to see exactly how this could have been done And while De La Rue printers in England puzzle over this money mystery - money handlers will have to be a lot more careful when accepting notes. But there are other features which the counterfeiters could not master - but these are either microscopic and not readily visible to the naked eye: Teresa Busch, Supervisor Currency The silver thread that is on the counterfeit that we are seeing right now doesn't form a straight line when held up to the light. It's just the silver that is there, and it seems like it is foil or something like that. The silver thread on the genuine notes has the twenty dollar inscribed right on the silver thread.- if you hold it up you can see it with your bare eyes. It says ""twenty dollars, twenty dollars, twenty dollars..." while the counterfeit one, it's just a plain strip of foil paper. Mario Galvez, Club Owner The shade of the money has a little bit of blur on it, but the money has the head in it, it has the line so you really have to look for the serial numbers. But the ultimate test is a black light - which will show up two hidden features - a jabiru stork and the number 20 - these do not show up on the duplicate. And really, buying one of these is the only way to easily tell if your bill is real or fake - proof that with this money scare you'll have to spend money to make sure it's money you're making... The Central Bank has sent off these notes going on two weeks now - and is waiting for a response from their British printery to find out what process was involved in creating them. The general public is advised to look out for these notes with serial numbers cc915950, cc934813, cc927374 and cc06173....