00:00 Counterfeiting is an age-old crime that has evolved into a complex battle between fake money makers and authorities.

02:26 Counterfeiting, originating with easily replicated seashells and evolving through metals like copper imitation in coinage, represents a historical crime punishable by death.

04:42 Counterfeiting evolved from shaving coins to clipping them for profit.

07:02 Early paper money, used in America during the Revolutionary War and known as Continentals, became notoriously easy to counterfeit due to its poor quality.

09:16 Estimates suggest a third to half of all Continental dollars were counterfeit during the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin pioneered watermark use and publicly condemned forgery as murder, amidst widespread Confederate and Union note counterfeiting in the Civil War era. Post-war efforts led by Lincoln resulted in founding America's Secret Service to fight currency falsification with soph0-cess technologies like special paper and detailed printing.

11:27 Counterfeiting became nearly impossible due to advanced technologies like security threads, microprinting, and color-shifting ink incorporated into modern banknotes.

13:37 A nearly indistinguishable counterfeit $100 bill, dubbed Superdollar, emerged globally and allegedly backed by North Korea's resources.