All Samoan bank notes have recently
upgraded security features that are reliable, quick, and easy to
use. By making it a habit to check two or more of these features
whenever you accept cash, you can avoid being stuck with a
counterfeit bank note.
Remember that verifying the mere presence of a
security feature is not enough. You need to make sure that it works
as it should when you tilt or look through the note. If a bank note
seems suspicious to you, compare it with a bank note you know it's
genuine.
Security Features of Samoa's $2 Tala Bank
Note
1. Serial Number A three-letter prefix followed by a six-digit
number is printed twice on the bank of each
note.
2. Polymer Plastic The $2 tala is
the only bank note in the Samoan currency
that is made from Polymer plastic instead of
the occasional cotton paper. Polymer plastic
is more expensive to reproduce than cotton
paper but is difficult to counterfeit and
last 10 years longer than cotton paper.
1. Transparent Watermark Hold the
note to the light, and a
transparent watermark of a Samoan
traditional Kava bowl. This
watermark is embedded in the polymer plastic
material and can
be seen from both sides of the note.
4. Colours Some colours are difficult to reproduce; you
may notice a difference in tone when
comparing a suspect note with a genuine
note.
