Kids’ craze for ‘counterfeit’ currency bookmarks could be illegal, China’s central bank says
Authorities may take action as retailer in central Chinese province admits to selling almost US$1,000 worth of ‘fake notes’ annually
A craze among schoolchildren in central China for collecting bookmarks printed to look like Chinese and US banknotes could be against the law, according to local media.
In a report by Changsha Evening Daily on Monday, the mother of a fourth-grader in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, said she spotted one of the “billionaire bookmarks” when she was checking her son’s homework.
The boy said that he and his classmates bought the notes from local shops and traded and collected them with friends. It was the hottest craze in school, he said.
While the printing on the notes closely replicates the look of genuine yuan and US dollar notes, their size and form – some come in the classic cartoon shape of a dog’s bone – clearly suggest they are intended for nothing other than fun.
“They look exactly like real paper money,” the mother, surnamed Zuo, was quoted as saying, “only in different shapes”.