

Novel Optical Trick Creates Ultra-Secure Cash - miraj
http://www.fastcompany.com/biomimicry/never-before-seen-optical-trick-creates-ultra-secure-cash

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VonLipwig
Its very cool, it looks like it would have tonnes of use's assuming there
isn't a lower tech method of emulating a similar effect.

Counterfeit cash only has to be good enough to trick a human. It is for this
reason that I don't think it would be too long before counterfeiters found a
cheap low tech method of creating a similar looking effect.

~~~
cmarshall
The polymer notes[1] we use in Australia (and also print for several other
countries) have been around for about 18 years now and have very low rates of
counterfeiting due to the number of security features built in[2].

The notes do cost more to produce, but the extra durability means that they
last about 4 times as long (from memory) in circulation, so overall the cost
difference is marginal for the government, but is an additional deterrent for
counterfeiters.

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_banknote> [2]
<http://www.rba.gov.au/banknotes/counterfeit/index.html>

~~~
eli
I just read an interesting article about Canada borrowing the polymer from the
Australia. I didn't realize that until very recently, Canada had a really
serious counterfeiting problem.

[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-
business/economy/cu...](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-
business/economy/currencies/funny-money-how-counterfeiting-led-to-a-major-
overhaul-of-canadas-money/article2258968/singlepage/#articlecontent)

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jpxxx
Who cares about "security"? This is an aesthetic goldmine: the ability to
emboss passive no-power fluorescence onto any surface or material permanently
is huge.

Tattoos, buildings, glassware, bezels, cars, reflectors, furniture... jeez.
This is amazing stuff.

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spobo
It won't be ultra secure if it's cheap to manufacture and used in products
ranging from money to even concert tickets.

But very cool none the less. I do hope it gets fitted to the next currencies
because an extra obstacle for counterfeiters is always welcome.

~~~
dsl
Cheap to manufacture usually refers to per unit costs. If a machine costs 10
million dollars and has an output of 100 million units per year, your per unit
cost is 10 cents (plus materials), or "pretty cheap."

Only state sponsored counterfeiters would be able to replicate this technology
in the next 10 years.

~~~
ljf
I believe it's the sate sponsored teams that actually get most of the fake
money into circulation (in terms of currency value, not units in circulation):

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdollar>

The UK has a large problem with fake Pound coins, which are made at an artisan
level, but all the high value note faking, worldwide, of established
currencies, is most likely State Sponsored. Which states produce them remains
a mystery, though some think it is the USA/CIA:
[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2008/01/10/24521/us-
counterfeitin...](http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2008/01/10/24521/us-
counterfeiting-charges-against.html)

~~~
moheeb
That link says absolutely nothing about the US or CIA possibly counterfeiting
UK pound coins.

~~~
DanBC
But the post you're replying to doesn't claim that UK pound coins are
counterfeited by US or CIA, it says that UK coins are counterfeited by
"artisans".

(<http://www.coinauthentication.co.uk/poundfiles-types.html>)

Wikipedia says that nearly 3% of pound coins are counterfeit, and that the
Swazi lilangeni is minted from the same planchets, which makes vending machine
fraud easy.

~~~
moheeb
Here is the post I am quoting: _The UK has a large problem with fake Pound
coins.... Which states produce them remains a mystery, though some think it is
the USA/CIA_

After this quote a link was provided. That link did not mention anything about
the USA or CIA producing fake UK pound coins.

Am I missing something? Why are the two topics in the same paragraph if they
are not related?

~~~
ljf
Looks like you missed the bit in the middle:

The UK has a large problem with fake Pound coins,--- which are made at an
artisan level,--- but all the high value note faking, worldwide, of
established currencies, is most likely State Sponsored.

This was to clarify what I had meant above, talking about volume over value.
The UK has a large volume of fake coins in circulation, most likely far far
more than the number of fake notes we have circulating. BUT the value of the
fake notes in circulation far exceeds that of the coins.

I was trying to make it clear that yes there is a lot of mom and pop fakery
going on, but the real high value fakery comes from the highly technical and
sophisticated teams (most like state sponsored).

------
xutopia
Why did they say "thousands of years of evolution" instead of millions?

~~~
peteretep
Well, given the earth is only 6,000 years old...

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rubidium
"Never before seen optical trick" makes it sound like the company invented
plasmonics. This isn't true. Using patterned structures to affect
electromagnetic fields via surface plasmons has been around for quite a while
in lower frequency ranges. The recent advances in nano-patterning have allowed
for access to optical wavelength light. Plasmonics is a very cool field, and
is likely to have many more applications.

For further reading:
[http://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=10&q=plasmonics](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=10&q=plasmonics)

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ck2
I can imagine advertisers using this to stamp currency with their logo.

(however it's illegal to tamper with money like that)

I highly doubt it will survive the wear and tear of regular use though - if
the microscopic holes become worn and enlarged or filled with dust, the effect
will stop working.

~~~
DanBC
> _if the microscopic holes become worn and enlarged or filled with dust, the
> effect will stop working._

From the article:

> [...] _which are typically 100-200 nanometers in diameter_

200 nanometers is 0.2 microns.

(<http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/particle-sizes-d_934.html>)

Dust is much too big, but there are some particles which may be small enough
to clog the holes.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Bacteria. Viruses. Fluids. Yuck.

~~~
joezydeco
How large is cocaine powder?

~~~
DanBC
([http://library-
resources.cqu.edu.au/JFS/PDF/vol_41/iss_3/JFS...](http://library-
resources.cqu.edu.au/JFS/PDF/vol_41/iss_3/JFS413960371.pdf))

> Previous work by Revenue Canada and the U.S. Customs Service indicated that
> heroin particles from seized samples are rarely larger than 20 microns in
> diameter, while cocaine particles are often larger than 20 microns, some
> times reaching 400 microns

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theon144
I never understood how do those anti-counterfeiting defenses work.

How come anybody can't buy the tech and make it at home? Is it because you
can't just get the machines, or maybe because they're expensive?

~~~
xorglorb
It's much cheaper to counterfeit old currency that is still in circulation
than to invest a lot of money in trying to replicate the latest security
features.

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Wistar
Why all the complex names for it? The iridescent color of a butterfly wing has
been known as "structural color" for a very long time.

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feralchimp
Sounds like they have a better mousetrap. Should be interesting to see whether
they build a successful business out of it.

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mhb
Reflective clothing?

~~~
thorin_2
It will start with currency and such, followed by clothing (hey, look at me!),
then nails, then full body "tattoos". Heck, a couple of decades from now we'll
put the city of Panem (from the Hunger Games) to shame. We'll all look like a
bunch of human butterflies.

~~~
jackpirate
_hey, look at me!_

For safety, not for fashion. Hopefully.

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Mordor
How about fingernails?

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maeon3
Id rather see a currency that cant be stolen by governments who print the
currency like mad causing hyperinflation. A hyperinflation protected currency
where it takes millions of computer-years of time to print more cash.

~~~
peteretep
At my house, we have a "no computer programmers talking about economics".

One of the biggest problems of the Eurozone is the inability for governments
to inflate their money-supply. Also you just described bitcoin.

~~~
GFischer
I've seen some reasonable responses over here. Also lots of uninformed or
misinformed stuff, sure, but I'd rather not limit discussion of economics,
law, etc.. just to the professionals.

Also, the more I learn about economics (I'm halfway through an MBA program),
the less I believe economics should be left to the economists - I do
understand that I have only a patina of knowledge, and that a little knowledge
is a dangerous thing :).

~~~
peteretep
I think the key issue is that there's something about computer programmers
that makes them think they already understand economics. I'm not sure what.
Maybe that it seems like it should be self evident because "it's just numbers"
or something.

And yet, some of the facile comments you read and hear and I will cut the
fingers off the next person who tells me we should go back to the gold
standard, because at least gold has a value...

