Security element particularly for banknotes, security cards and the like, having anti-counterfeiting features

1. A security element, comprising a first substrate which is at least partially opaque when viewed in transmitted light, magnetic areas being deposited on said substrate, wherein said magnetic areas comprise at least two types of magnetic areas which have different coercivity values and whose residual magnetism is identical or different, said different values being adapted to generate at least three mutually different codes.

2. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said magnetic areas have different coercivity and a residual magnetism which depends on the different thickness of said areas.

3. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said magnetic areas have different coercivity and identical residual magnetism, said areas being adapted to generate different analog signals when they are subjected to a first reading by orienting said areas longitudinally and to a second reading, in which the magnetization/flux is rotated through 90°.

4. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said magnetic areas are deposited sequentially on said substrate.

5. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said magnetic areas are deposited so as to be adjacent one another on said first substrate.

6. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said magnetic areas are deposited so as to be superimposed on said first substrate.

7. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said first substrate is a support made of metalized polyester, text and/or graphic markings being defined by at least partial demetallization of the metallic layer on said first substrate in order to create negative and/or positive texts and/or markings.

8. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said magnetic areas are provided by means of magnetic inks.

9. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said three codes are determined by all the magnetic areas that are present, by the magnetic areas with high coercivity value, and by the magnetic areas with low coercivity value, respectively.

10. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said three codes are determined by all the magnetic areas that are present, provided by means of inks having a high coercive value and by means of inks having a low coercivity value, by the magnetic areas provided with inks with high coercive value which have mutually identical or different residual magnetism, and by magnetic areas provided by means of inks with low coercivity value and whose residual magnetism is identical and/or different.

11. The security element according to claim 1 , wherein said magnetic areas comprise magnetic areas with high coercivity value which are positioned so as to be at least partially superimposed on magnetic areas with a low coercivity value.

12. The security element according to claim 10 , wherein said areas with high coercivity value and said areas with low coercivity value, which generate an identical and/or different residual magnetism, are provided by overprinting.

13. The security element according to claim 11 , wherein said magnetic areas with high coercivity value and said magnetic areas with low coercivity value, which generate identical and/or different residual magnetism, are provided by coupling in register two substrates, of which the first one contains the areas with high coercivity value and the second one contains the areas with low coercivity value.

14. The security element according to claim 10 , wherein said areas with high coercivity value and said areas with low coercivity value, which generate identical and/or different residual magnetism, are printed with a single ink obtained from a mixture of oxides which have different coercivity values.

15. The security element according to claim 7 , comprising a second substrate which is adapted to be coupled to said first substrate, said second substrate being metalized and demetallized at least partially at areas of the first substrate where the at least partially demetallized text or graphic markings are positioned, so that the text or the graphic markings are visible in transmitted light when said first substrate is coupled to said second substrate, while the magnetic areas are not visible.

16. The security element according to claim 15 , wherein said second substrate is provided with magnetic areas which are adapted to be positioned, when said second substrate is coupled to said first substrate, at the magnetic areas defined on the first substrate, the magnetic areas of said second substrate having a different surface and/or thickness with respect to the magnetic areas of said first substrate.

17. The security element according to claim 15 , wherein said magnetic areas of said second substrate have different thicknesses but identical surfaces with respect to said magnetic areas of said first substrate.

18. The security element according to claim 1 , further comprising second magnetic areas which are overprinted on said magnetic areas of said first substrate, said second magnetic areas having, with respect to said magnetic areas of said first substrate, a different coercivity, identical surfaces, so as to provide areas which are composed of said first magnetic areas printed on the substrate and of said second magnetic areas printed over the first ones, the sum of which makes the residual magnetism identical or very similar to the areas which are not overprinted by second magnetic areas; the identical or different residual magnetism being reached according to one or more of the following configurations:

using different thicknesses of said first and second magnetic areas;

using identical thicknesses of said first and second areas but using inks whose specific residual magnetism is different between said first areas and said second areas;

providing a mixture of the inks used to print said first magnetic areas and said second magnetic areas.

19. The security element according to claim 1 , comprising, on at least one of its sides, holographic and/or color-shift and/or changing color and/or mono- or multifluorescent images.

20. A method for reading a security element comprising a firt substrate which is at least partially opaque when viewed in transmitted light, magnetic areas being deposited on said substrate, wherein said magnetic areas comprise at least two types of magnetic areas which have different coercivity values and whose residual magnetism is identical or different, said different values being adapted to generate at least three mutually different codes the method comprising the steps of:

orienting said magnetic areas with a magnet having a high coercive power and detecting said magnetic areas by means of a first reading head of a reading sensor, and obtaining a first code;

by means of a second magnet, having a reduced coercive power but sufficient to turn through 90° the magnetism of said magnetic areas with low coercive power, detecting by means of a second reading head the remaining magnetic areas with high coercivity value, and obtaining a second code; and

detecting a third code generated only by the areas with low coercivity value.

21. The method according to claim 20 , wherein said magnets and said heads are arranged at an angle ranging from 40 to 50° with respect to the longitudinal and/or transverse extension of said security element.

22. The method according to claim 21 , wherein said magnets and said heads are arranged at an angle of 45° with respect to the longitudinal extension of said security element.

23. A security card, comprising at least one security element, said at least one security element comprising a first substrate which is at least partially opaque when viewed in transmitted light, magnetic areas being deposited on said substrate, wherein said magnetic areas comprise at least two types of magnetic areas which have different coercivity values and whose residual magnetism is identical or different, said different values being adapted to generate at least three mutually different codes.

24. The security card according to claim 23 , wherein said security element is a security thread.

25. The security card according to claim 23 , wherein said security card is a security stripe.