Although the amount of counterfeit money u Serbia relatively small compared to the total number of banknotes in circulation, data National Bank of Serbia (NBS) show that the problem still exists and requires the constant attention of citizens and traders.
According to the report NBS for the year 2025, a total of 4.513 counterfeit banknotes were detected during twelve months.
Foreign currency is counterfeited more often than domestic currency, and during the past year, 1.832 counterfeit dinar banknotes were discovered, as well as 2.681 foreign currency banknotes, primarily the euro and the US dollar.
German marks, a currency that has not been in circulation since 2002, were also found among the counterfeit foreign currency.
Two thousand dinars, the most common forgery
The banknote with the image of the scientist Milutin Milanković and last year, as in previous years, is most often counterfeited when it comes to domestic currency. In the total number of forgeries found, the 2.000 dinar banknote accounts for almost 80 percent.
In terms of the amount of forgeries, 500 and 1.000 dinar banknotes are next, then 5.000, but several fake banknotes in denominations of 200, 100 and 20 dinars were also found.
Banknotes of 500, 1.000 and 2.000 dinars in the last 10 years are the most represented among the detected forgeries of dinars, according to the NBS.
Euro, dollar, but also German mark
Euros dominate the structure of counterfeit foreign currencies, since more than 80 percent of foreign currency counterfeits found were in this currency. The most frequently counterfeited are 100 and 200 euro denominations, which are the most represented in cash circulation.
A check was also carried out on 510 pieces of euro coins in the denomination of one and two euros, whereby 36 pieces in the denomination of two euros were found to be counterfeits.
A significant number of counterfeit 100 US dollar bills were also recorded, while other currencies are present in negligible numbers.
It is interesting that one forged banknote of the German mark, a currency that has not been in circulation for 24 years, was also found.
What is the value of counterfeit money?
Counterfeit banknotes have no value, but if they were real, the most would be euros.
Out of a total of 47.310.853,24 dinars, which is the nominal dinar equivalent value of counterfeits of all currencies, the dominant share of detected counterfeit euro banknotes is 39.169.350,27 dinars (82,79 percent).
It is followed by the US dollar in the amount of 4.644.485,43 dinars (9,82 percent), the domestic currency in the amount of 3.491.020,00 dinars (7,38 percent) and the German mark in the amount of 5.997,54 dinars (0,01 percent).
Although statistics show that there are only a few counterfeits out of a million real dinar banknotes in circulation, caution is necessary, especially in retail, catering and when exchanging large amounts of cash.
How to recognize a counterfeit?
In the daily use of banknotes, you should always check more than one security element using three very simple tests: feel, look and tilt, NBS stated earlier.
A counterfeit banknote is usually smooth to the touch, and when the roughness is imitated, it is still different from that of the original banknote.
Another way to check is to look at the watermark. The watermark is located on the white, left side of the face of the banknote and shows the central motif of the banknote. On a forged banknote, at the place of the watermark, while the banknote is on the table, the character on the banknote is visible, while on the original banknote it is not visible and should not be visible.
Also, when the original banknote is held up to the light source, a character will be seen on its colored part that fully corresponds to the main motif on the banknote.
Another protective element is the optically variable color. The sign of the National Bank of Serbia on the original banknote changes color depending on the angle of observation, while on counterfeits the color remains the same regardless of the angle of observation.
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