Operation Bernhard was an exercise by Nazi Germany to forge British bank notes. The initial plan was to drop the notes over Britain to bring about a collapse of the British economy during the Second World War.

If North Korea really was behind the superdollars, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time a world power has used forged currency to damage an opponent. In fact, for more than 200 years, counterfeiting has been a part of the wartime strategies of a number of countries. According to one source, during the Seven Years War both the Austrian and Russian armies dispersed bogus Polish money while on campaign as a means to further weaken the enemy. It was a strategy revived by Napoleon when he wanted to undermine the economies of Austria, Russia and Great Britain.