A phony has shown up in Damariscotta.

The Damariscotta Police Department reported that in the past week a fake $10 bill was circulated in town.

Damariscotta Police Chief Ron Young said the fake bill was detected at Bath Savings Bank in Damariscotta on Thursday, September 3 after a deposit was made.

Young said the bank contacted him, then he forwarded the complaint to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Detective Scott Hayden, who handles counterfeit claims for the area, Young said.

“Beyond that, counterfeit bills are handled by the federal reserve,” he said. “There are no suspects and no charges likely at this time.”

Young said there haven't been many counterfeit bills recently, but the department expects to see several throughout the year.

What was different this time around was the denomination, Young said.

“Normally you see counterfeits as $20 bills, they're not generally $10 bills,” he said.

Young said that the bank's bill counter is generally able to pick out fraudulent bills, but that usually he can discover if a bill is counterfeit or not.

“Usually I just go by feel,” he said. “I can usually close my eyes and tell if the feeling's off. Usually (a counterfeit) won't have the right texture, it'll feel too much like paper.”

Young said the counterfeit in question also didn't have the watermark, colored fibers or the stripe that denotes authenticity, but that it looked like the bill had been passed around.

“It looks like an old bill, and if it was given with a couple of other bills and the (cashier) isn't paying attention it would be easy to mistake it (for a real bill),” he said. “Or if it's low-light it might be easy to mistake it.

“Most businesses have a bill checker, or use the pen that shows if a bill is counterfeit.”