Movie Money Making Middle Tennessee Rounds: Smyrna Police

SMYRNA, TN — Bogus money is circulating in Smyrna, police say, and it's accurate enough that it's fooled many area businesses. The bills — $20s and $100s — were originally made for use in movies and though ersatz, are reasonable enough facsimiles to fool even the most discerning eye.

Motion-picture producers are permitted to make fake bills for use in filming, though they must be labeled appropriately. To make the bills pretty enough for the pictures, the required "FOR MOTION PICTURE USE ONLY" labeling takes the place of "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" to the right of the portrait on the obverse. Though the words themselves are obviously different, the typeface and the length of the verbiage are similar enough that without a close look, it's easy to miss.

Smyrna Police are investigating how the bills came into circulation and how they ended up in Smyrna.

Image via Smyrna Police