News

Security defective on SA's Mandela banknotes

July 7, 2013

One of the security features on South Africa's new Mandela banknotes has been discovered to easily lift off the notes. Ironically, this feature — an embedded thread — was intended to be one of the notes' most visible security features.

A report by Money Web quoted a Sunday Times article that described the notes as "a counterfeiter's haven."

Banknotes honoring South African leader Nelson Mandela are printed in denominations ranging from R20 to R200. The South African Bank Note company prints R10 and R100 notes, while a Swedish company prints R20, R50 and R200 notes.

The security thread is manufactured by a German company. The article did not mention whether any particular denomination was more prone than others to the security defect. 

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