Hey, Counties!

How’s that isolation going? We hope you’re healthy and safe.

As always, each episode of Counter Programming will focus on a "counter" of some sort. Today, we learn about counterfeit money.

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Counterfeit history:

• Counterfeiting money is thought to be the world's second oldest profession.
• It dates back to the ancient civilization of Lydia (modern day Turkey).
• Counterfeiters would shave off the edges of coins and mix the precious metals with base metals.
• In the 1690s in England, the punishment for "clipping silver" was hanging, burning at the stake, and drawing and quartering.

Interview with Lisa (a counterfeit coin)
Meet Lisa, a counterfeit coin who lives in a shallow dish on a dresser in Studio City. She believes she was created in the 1760s, but appraisers believe she was created in the 1930s and made to look older. She thinks a lot about what's "real" and what's "fake," beyond the scope of coins and currency. She's friendly with the bracelet she's situated next to and hopes to one day retire as a charm on that bracelet. Learn more in this interview!

Top scams:

• The Money Painter - JS G Boggs (started drawing in the '80s)
  • He was an artist and drew money. He never sold his counterfeit money but he would use it to pay for items and then would keep his receipts.
• Albert Talton (2000s) 
  • He was able to produce and counterfeit more than $7M in faux currency which was used before he was caught in 2007.
• Frank Bourassa (2010s) 
  • Was able to pass off more than $250M in fake money.
  • Only made $20 bills.
  • He still knows where the missing $50M is, and he is out and about since he only spent 1.5 months in jail in 2014.
• Wayne Victor Denis - (the 90s)
  • Produced $12M in fake money (only got 4 years in prison) and wrote a memoir from jail about the experience.
• Viktor Baranov (1970s)
  • Replicated the most complex Soviet coin, using a unique machine that he invented.
  • He was one of the first people to be caught and people still use his techniques today.

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Lisa, the counterfeit coin, was played by Lisa Orkin of Project Woo Woo.

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