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COUPLE CLAIMED PLANS TO BURN COUNTERFEIT U.S. CURRENCY
E-Sylum readers should be familiar with "hell money", fake banknotes made in Asia to be burned as a ritual offering for
their dead. Here's an interesting twist - a Vietnamese couple was stopped at the Detroit airport with suitcases full of fake U.S.
banknotes, which they claimed they planned to burn as "hell money". -Editor
A simple yes or no question led to the discovery of more than $4.6 million in what is referred to as “hell money” and the swift involvement of U.S. Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. A Vietnamese couple flying in from Seoul Korea Friday with more than $4.6 million in counterfeit U.S. cash gave conflicting answers when asked if they were traveling with more than $10,000. It is a routine question for international travelers on a questionnaire. According to Ken Hammond, chief Customs and Border Protection officer, the couple explained the money is called “hell money” in their culture and it was planned to be used as burnt offerings to the deceased. The ritual is an often practiced custom in certain Asian cultures. It was packed in numerous luggage bags. Hammond said after questioning it was the final determination of the Secret Service that the couple’s explanation was credible. Although importing any amount of counterfeit currency is illegal, Hammond said there was no criminal intent associated with their travel. The couple was not arrested, but the counterfeit money was seized by the Secret Service. They were allowed to keep their legitimate Vietnamese Dong (Asian currency). It is not clear who they were planning the burning ritual for or if their destination was actually Romulus or another destination. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, hell money is a form of joss paper printed to resemble legal tender bank notes. The notes are not an officially recognized currency, nor are they legal tender. If checked with our resident expert Howard Daniel, who writes: There are currently about four or five varieties of hell notes with the US$100 design on both sides. It is printed on TISSUE PAPER and nothing like authentic notes. The block letters and serial numbers are also altered. There is NO WAY it could be considered counterfeit money but some younger customs agents need to be educated about them. Most of the older customs agents understand their use. To read the complete article, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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