International Finance Discussion Papers: Accessible versions of figures for 1404

Estimating the Volume of Counterfeit U.S. Currency in Circulation

Accessible version of figures


Chart 1: Dollar Value of Passed Counterfeits Per Million Dollars in Estimated Domestic Circulation


Fiscal Year Dollar Value of Passed Counterfeits Per Million Dollars in Estimated Domestic Circulation
2001 167.8
2004 125.3
2008 162.1
2012 151.8
2016 116.1
2020 106.3
2023 89.6

Note: Forsimplicity, the calculations in this chart assume that half of currency is in circulation abroad and half is in circulation domestically.
Source: USSS and U.S. Treasury.

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Chart 2: Dollar Value of Counterfeits Passed within the United States
FY 2001 to 2023, by Denomination and Type, Selected Years


Fiscal year High quality $100 High quality $ 50 High quality $20 Low quality $100 Low quality $50 Low quality $20 Low quality $10 and less
2001 27.2 0.2 0.4 10.0 2.2 5.8 1.7
2004 17.8 0.3 0.1 12.2 2.2 9.3 1.4
2008 20.1 4.4 0.2 23.7 5.6 8.2 1.6
2012 34.5 0.6 0.1 23.0 6.9 12.7 2.7
2016 23.0 0.5 0.1 33.4 8.0 14.2 2.4
2020 16.0 0.6 0.5 56.1 8.5 16.4 1.4
2023 26.4 1.8 1.6 49.3 9.1 12.7 0.8

Source: USSS.

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Figure 3: Suspected Counterfeit Note Detection Rates in FRB Processing By Denomination


Fiscal year 5 10 20 50 100 Total
2000 6.0 14.9 6.6 5.3 41.3 16.8
2004 6.0 12.8 6.0 5.0 21.1 10.8
2008 5.2 13.0 3.8 21.9 17.3 11.6
2012 8.0 13.9 3.4 5.3 12.3 7.7
2016 5.5 9.7 3.2 4.7 11.4 6.9
2020 3.2 4.3 1.8 3.4 8.4 4.7
2023 2.0 3.3 1.5 4.8 7.6 4.9

Source: Federal Reserve Board.

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