There are about 100 million counterfeit dollars in the world, and, as Sean Ferrari, chief commercial officer of Currency Research and a former Federal Reserve official, told The Wall Street Journal, about 12% of them are “movie money” (For motion pictures use only), legally printed for filming, but which ended up in circulation.
According to him, such banknotes are created for films, TV series, and commercials, with mandatory markings such as For motion pictures use only. Nevertheless, some of these banknotes leak into the system and are used to try to pay in stores, cafes, and vending machines.
In 2019, the US Secret Service admitted that some of these bills were convincing enough to fool people and cash acceptance devices.
Ferrari says that, against this backdrop, it is particularly noteworthy that the US one-dollar bill has not changed its design in over 60 years. At the same time, almost 15 billion $1 bills are in circulation.
The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing explains this by saying that low-denomination bills are rarely counterfeited, and updating the design would entail enormous costs and logistical difficulties worldwide, where the dollar is a reserve currency. In addition, there is a federal ban on redesigning the $1 to preserve the dollar’s credibility as a symbol of stability.