Mössbauer Spectroscopy Investigation of the Properties and Stability of Dollar Bank Note Pigments

Abstract

Two groups of “high quality” counterfeit United States currency bank notes from the old and new 100 USD bank note bill, respectively, are investigated by means of Mössbauer spectroscopy, and their Mössbauer parameters are compared to genuine 100 USD bank note parameters. The dispersion of the distribution of the Mössbauer parameter values for 54 genuine bank notes is discussed. The most unstable spectra appear to be those of the green pigment. The instability of pigment properties is due to the different thermal conditions at which the different manufacturers have synthesized the pigment. The ability to use Mössbauer spectroscopy in forensic studies has been tested and the hypothesis of one and the same source of dissemination of the forged bank notes has been confirmed.