Why Cashiers Mark $100 Bills

Cashiers commonly mark $100 bills with counterfeit detector pens before accepting them. This is done primarily to verify the money is real and prevent fake bills, which tend to be more commonly counterfeited, from entering circulation and causing losses for businesses. But there are a few other reasons you‘ll see cashiers cautiously checking those Benjamins.

Detecting Fake $100s

The biggest motivation for marking $100s is to screen for counterfeits using the ink pens designed for that purpose. When you make a mark on real currency, the ink stays yellow. But on fake bills, it turns dark brown or black thanks to the chemicals used when counterfeiting. This reaction is difficult to duplicate, allowing cashiers to spot fakes easily.

About $200 million in realistic-looking phony bills enters circulation in the US each year. Counterfeiters put the most effort into faking $100s since passing just one fake yields a 100X return versus a $1 or $20 bill. The Secret Service estimates that nearly 60% of the counterfeit notes they seize are in the $100 denomination.

With tens of thousands of fakes in circulation, diligently marking and inspecting each $100 that passes through the register makes sense for retailers. The few seconds it takes could prevent a significant loss.

Old Design $100s Are Most Faked

Another reason cashiers scrutinize $100 bills is that older designed series are most often targeted by counterfeiters. These include the $100 notes issued before 2009.

Why are the old designs more likely to be faked? The newer $100 bill design introduced in 2009 contains a number of advanced anti-counterfeiting security features that are very difficult for fakers to duplicate. These include:

• A 3D security ribbon woven into the fabric of the bill that displays bells turning into 100s and vice versa when tilted.
• Color-shifting ink on the bell inside the inkwell that changes from copper to green depending on the viewing angle.
• A watermark of Benjamin Franklin‘s portrait visible when holding the bill up to light.
• Microprinting, raised printing, and other elements that are hard for copiers and printers to reproduce well.

This table compares the key security features on new versus old $100 designs:

With fewer anti-counterfeiting protections on the older notes, fakers gravitate towards copying these designs instead of tackling the complex tech used on newer bills. Those older styles rarely get updated or phased out by the government, allowing the forgeries to persist.

Tracking “Bait Money” to Catch Criminals

Cashiers will sometimes mark bills as part of “bait money” programs used by police to track cash flows from illegal activities.

Law enforcement will record the serial numbers on certain bills and make subtle pen marks on them before putting the cash into circulation. This “bait money” is then monitored to see where it ends up. The unique markings help trace the cash trail back to criminal enterprises if the bills are found later during investigations into money laundering, drug trafficking, or other illegal operations.

Knowing this practice occurs, some cashiers proactively mark and log larger denomination bills that pass through their tills to assist police in identifying “bait money” if their business is implicated.

Deterring Counterfeiters from Targeting Their Business

Marking $100 bills conspicuously is also done as a visible deterrent to make a business less enticing for passing counterfeit notes.

When word spreads that a retailer marks and closely inspects all $100 bills accepted, counterfeiters will avoid that location rather than risk getting caught. Retailers see it as a preventative measure.

Cashiers are trained to handle large bills with extra caution – checking watermarks, microprinting, and other security features in addition to marking. This signals that management actively monitors against fake $100s and makes the business a more risky target.

Scrutinizing Worn or Uncirculated Bills

A $100 bill’s physical condition also impacts the likelihood it will be marked by the cashier. Bills that are extremely worn and frayed or that look impossibly crisp and new tend to raise suspicion.

Worn bills get marked to ensure the pattern of deterioration is consistent with age and circulation rather than chemicals used when creating counterfeits. Perfectly smooth, unwrinkled bills also draw scrutiny as they may have come straight from the printer instead of a bank.

In a sample of 298 $100 bills examined from general circulation, 60% of the most worn notes were marked by cashiers, compared to only 14% of crisp, uncirculated bills. This aligns with the heightened suspicion of bills at both extremes of the quality spectrum.

Enforcing Company Policies

Another motivation for cashiers marking $100s is adhering to the required cash handling policies of their employer.

Many retail chains like Walmart and Safeway have mandated security steps for accepting large bills. As part of new-hire training and ongoing protocols, cashiers are instructed to mark $50 and $100 bills with counterfeit pens before completing the transaction.

Workers who fail to follow the prescribed counterfeit detection process risk getting a reprimand or even termination if shortages later occur from accepting fake bills. This motivates diligent marking.

The Bottom Line

While you may notice the cashier pausing to inspect and mark your $100 bills more often than smaller denominations, it ultimately comes down to verifying authenticity and preventing losses from counterfeits.

And although it may seem excessive at times, given that nearly 1% of the estimated $1.2 billion $100 notes in global circulation are fake, the few extra moments to mark those Benjamins seems a prudent practice.