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The Bill Held to the Light (illustration)
FILE No.141Unsolved

The Bill Held to the Light

Difficulty ★☆☆about 5 minTheft CaseComparisonWatermarks
A bill whose watermark cannot be seen when held to the light. Genuine bills under the same light showed it.

Case Record

Among the change at a shop was a suspicious 10,000-yen bill. A clerk held the bill up to a bright light and could not see the watermark.

Under the same light, three genuine 10,000-yen bills issued around the same time all clearly showed the watermark. This bill is not dirty.

Your question

What can be said for certain about this bill?

Case Files

Diagram

A suspicious 10,000-yen note in the changeNoteHeld to the same bright lightThe suspicious noteNo watermark visible (it is clean)3 genuine notes of thesame periodAll three show a clear watermark
Diagram

Hints

If you get stuck, open the hints one at a time, in order.

Open hint 1

Under the same light, what did the genuine bills show?

Open hint 2

Is this bill dirty?

Open hint 3

Can a watermark be made by printing?

Solve It

Your question

What can be said for certain about this bill?

Choose the answer closest to the truth.

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The Truth

It is strongly suspected to be counterfeit

The answer is "It is strongly suspected to be counterfeit."

Under the same light, genuine bills from the same period showed a watermark. It is not because of weak light. The bill is not dirty, so dirt cannot be the cause.

There is also no basis for "old bills have no watermark." A watermark is built into the paper and cannot be made by printing. A bill without a watermark is strongly suspected to be counterfeit.

Checking each possible reasonReasonFits?The light is weakNo: genuine notes showed in the same lightDirt hides itNo: the note is cleanOld notes have noneNo: same-period notes have oneCounterfeitYes: a watermark is made in the paper,not printed
Diagram of the solution

Key Points

  • Compare under the same conditions
  • "Weak light" is ruled out by comparison with genuine bills
  • "Cannot see it" and "is not there" need a condition

Why people get fooled

Because the bill looks just like a genuine one.

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