**poll**

[Bill McCormick]

In article <byoderD4ACGL.II at netcom.com>, byoder at netcom.com (Brian K. Yoder) says:
>In article <3hondn$a1b at lace.Colorado.EDU> buckley at refuge.Colorado.EDU (Charles Buckley) writes:
>>  When paper money wa first introduced into the US, it was printed
>>by private banks. The amount of forgeries were staggering. It was 
>>estimated that up to 1/3 of all currency in the US was counterfeit
>>(source: The hacker Crackdown. Bruce Sterling). 
>
>Actually, I have some copies of currency at that time, and the crude 
>nature of printing technology at the time had a lot more to do with
>the counterfeit rate at the time than the fact that it was private banks.
>Do you seriously think that governments are soehow better able to 
>produce uncounterfeitable items than private banks?  Get real.

Simple experiment. Which is easier to conterfeit? A US$20 bill or an
US$20 American Express Traveller's Cheque?

Looks like the private banks have it all over the government here.

In fact, I believe the American Bank Note Company has contracts to
both Amex and the Mint -- so they come from the same place anyway.