Step away from the cocktail and find a light source—a window, a phone flashlight, or that neon sign outside. Look for the watermark of Andrew Jackson’s face on the right side of the bill. It’s not printed; it’s embedded in the paper itself. You should see a ghostly, three-dimensional version of his mug.
Now check the security thread—a thin, embedded strip that runs vertically to the left of the portrait. On a real $20, it says “USA TWENTY” in tiny letters and glows green under ultraviolet light. No glow? No “USA TWENTY”? That’s a red flag. As a cultural side note, this tech has been around since the 1990s (remember the movie Catch Me If You Can? That was pre-thread).
