Counterfeit Currency Database (CCD)
Definition
The US Secret Service's classification registry of counterfeit production signatures, assigning class codes to each distinct printing-process and denomination combination detected in circulation.
- Maintained by
- US Secret Service
- Function
- Classifies counterfeit production signatures
- Unit of classification
- Class code per printing-process and denomination combination
- Use
- Links seized counterfeit notes back to a common source or printing run
Common questions
How does a class code help an investigation?+
Notes made from the same plates, screens, or printer share consistent defects and process signatures. Assigning a class code lets examiners group geographically scattered seizures as products of one source, which supports linking cases and prioritising which counterfeiting operations are producing the most circulating notes.
What distinguishes the CCD from a simple denomination catalogue?+
A denomination catalogue only records face value and design. The CCD instead records the printing method used, such as inkjet, offset, or digital, combined with denomination, so two twenty-dollar counterfeits from different printers get different class codes even though they look similar at a glance.
Related terms
- 365 Nm UV Lamp
- A long-wave ultraviolet lamp used to examine substrate fluorescence, security thread UV response, and UV-reactive features on banknotes; genuine cotton-linen substrate appears...
- 3D Surface Profilometry
- A non-contact optical measurement technique used to quantify the topographic height (Z-height) of intaglio ink ridges; genuine MGNS intaglio measures 15-40 micrometres;...
- Bleached-Genuine Counterfeit
- A counterfeit produced by chemically removing the printed design from a genuine lower-denomination note and reprinting it as a higher denomination; passes...
- CVPC (Currency Verification Processing Centre)
- An RBI-designated facility in India where banks submit suspect notes for initial authentication and classification before forensic referral.
- FTIR Spectroscopy (Fourier Transform Infrared)
- A non-destructive analytical technique that measures infrared absorption as a function of wavenumber, producing a spectrum diagnostic of the chemical functional groups...
- Iodine-Starch Test
- The chemical basis of the counterfeit-detector pen: iodine reacts with starch in wood-pulp paper to form a dark blue-black complex, while genuine...
- Raman Spectroscopy
- A non-destructive laser-based technique sensitive to molecular vibration modes in pigments; complements FTIR by characterising pigment molecular structure rather than bulk ink...
- SEM-EDX (Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Analysis)
- A technique combining high-resolution surface imaging with elemental composition analysis; used to compare metallic-flake elemental ratios in OVI ink and to measure...
- Supernote
- A high-quality counterfeit capable of passing casual field examination; originally applied to US $100 counterfeits attributed to state-sponsored production with genuine cotton-linen...