Today's UK Daily Telegraph has an interesting article on the history of counterfeiting. Amongst other things, it reminds us that little has changed in security thinking over the last 300 years. No token can be made forgery-proof. The best you can do is make it hard to copy, incorporate hidden detection mechanisms, and provide a compelling deterrent. On the latter note, I particularly liked the motto on the New Jersey 30 shilling note that read "To counterfeit this bill is DEATH."
