Counterfeit money

Ever since there has been money, it has been counterfeited. There can be diverse reasons for it. When money was still made from precious metals, it was counterfeited by coining imitations from less valuable metals (such as bronze or copper). After the introduction of paper money, it did not take long until this, too, was copied. At the same time, counterfeiting has been prosecuted with high fines at all times. Today it is the job of numismatics to differentiate counterfeit from genuine money—with a great deal of practice.