West African States 10,000-franc counterfeit reported

20 11, 2009 10:50 Category: Africa

I would like to report a counterfeit note: West African States Pick 314C 10,000 francs dated 2001.

I recently bought two pieces from a dealer at a reasonable price and later came across Burt Burson (an expert on French African notes) selling the same note as a counterfeit on eBay.

I think it is important to announce the fake ones. It will save some collectors from buying fake notes as genuine ones. Even I bought as genuine at first glance. Therefore I wrote this short warning:

COUNTERFEIT WARNING - West African States Pick 314C 10,000 francs dated 2001

The most eye catching difference is the silver foil segmented security thread. The actual note has a very shiny one whereas the fake note has a rather dull one.
The actual note has more lively and darker colors and the fake one has more pale colors and a lighter pink underprint.
Signatures do not match with what should be in 2001. Both sides scans of a genuine note dated 2001 are shown to show that it has a different signature for "Le Président du Conseil des Ministres."
Although it is a high quality counterfeit, the paper still feels not genuine with a careful touch.
On a genuine note, the digit four in the serial number will be closed at top, but on fake notes the top of the four is open.