How to identify a fake Kenyan note (illustrations)

A video of fake currency printing machine went viral in May 2016 showing just how it was easy to have the fake notes.
Central Bank of Kenya has since issued some guidelines on how to identify a fake Kenyan note.

The currency notes have some features that easily help you know if a note is fake or not. The Public features include: watermarks, note size, security thread, serial numbers, and the texture of specific parts of the note.

1. Portrait watermark

“A three-dimensional portrait of a lion’s head, with areas in varying tones of dark and light, can be seen when the note is held up to the light,” reads a statement on CBK website.

Below the watermark is the value numeral of the banknote. Both the portrait and value numeral depict some brightness when held up to the light, the bank adds.

2. Serial numbers

The digits on a genuine banknote progressively get larger in adjacent positions. One set of serial numbers appears horizontally, the other vertically. The vertical serial numbers on the left hand side of the banknote glows under UV light, CBK explains.

3. See-through feature

The bank also states that each of the banknotes has a see through feature which forms a perfect complete elephant when held up to the light. When looked at from one side, the image does not form any recognizable feature unless when looked at up to the light.

4. Security thread

All genuine banknotes have a distinct interwoven thread running vertically down the right hand side of the notes. When held up to the light, the thread appears as a continuous line and it shows a series of text featuring the denomination numeral of the note and the letters CBK.

5. Size

All the denominations have different sizes. The KSh 50 note is the smallest while KSh 1,000 not is the biggest.

Current generation of Kenyan banknotes all have the portrait of the First President of Kenya, the Late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. They range in the denominations 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 shillings – CBK.

If you get a KSh 50 note that equals a KSh 500 note in size, know that it is a fake!

The denominations (KSh 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000) progressively increase in sizes.

6. Texture

The “president’s coats” has a rough texture.