Counterfeit Pens will only work on bills that were made after 1959.
Counterfeit pens are unreliable and do not work on currency printed before 1959.
I just marked a 1950 ten dollar bill with a counterfeit detector pen. The ink turned black indicating it was fake. It says on the pen that it is 'effective on most currency series 1959 and after.' I wonder if the bills were made differently prior to that date causing the ink to turn black as though they were counterfeit, or if the age alone makes the paper react differently to the ink.
Big Town - 1950 Fifty Dollar Bill 4-26 was released on: USA: 4 March 1954
Washington is only on Quarters. A 1950 US half dollar has Ben Franklin on it.
The composition of the bill was basically the same then as it is now, though it lacks modern security features. If tested with a pen, it should turn whatever color it's supposed to for a genuine note.
a big mac 2 fifty cent pieces 100 wheat pennies
It's still legal tender at face value, so yes.
yes, just had it happen in San Francisco. I received 3 1950 twenty dollar bills from B of A a couple days ago and didn't notice that they were old until they failed the pen test.
The pens should work, but differences in the paper over time may give a false indication that the bill is counterfeit. Bank employees are trained to identify these older bills.
The 1950 series was printed with that same date into the early 1960s. A new series began in 1963.
In 1950, one dollar was worth one dollar. Adjusted for inflation, one dollar in 1950 is just under $10 in 2014.
Nineteen fifty