No one security feature will ever give complete protection against counterfeiting but combining them can result in a note that becomes more difficult and time consuming to reproduce.

In an ongoing effort to minimize counterfeiting, most countries will redesign their notes fairly frequently, incorporating new security features made possible by advances in technology.

It is also very important that the features stand the test of time and every day wear and tear that currency encounters.

There are four catagories of security features:

Substrate Features Design Features Ink Features Shiny Features

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A security feature is an element within the note which is difficult to reproduce, ie an anti-counterfeit measure.