US$100 bill gets high-tech redesign
By Jeannine Aversa and Martin Crutsinger |
April 23, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE folks who print America's money have designed a high-tech makeover of the US$100 bill. It's part of an effort to stay ahead of counterfeiters as technology becomes more sophisticated and more dollars flow overseas, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says.
The makeover, unveiled on Wednesday by Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, may leave people wondering if there's magic involved.
Benjamin Franklin is still on the C-note. But he has been joined by a disappearing Liberty Bell in an inkwell and a bright blue security ribbon composed of thousands of tiny lenses that magnify objects in mysterious ways. Move the bill, and the objects move in a different direction.
The new currency will not go into circulation until February 10 next year. That will give the government time to educate the public in the United States and around the world about the changes.
"We estimate that as many as two-thirds of all US$100 notes circulate outside the United States," said Bernanke, who stressed that the 6.5 billion older-design US$100 bills now in circulation will remain legal tender.
The US$100 bill, the highest value denomination in general circulation, is the last bill to undergo an extensive redesign. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing began the process in 2003, adding splashes of color to spruce up first the US$20 and then the US$50, US$10 and US$5 bills. The US$1 bill isn't getting a makeover.
The changes are aimed at thwarting counterfeiters who are armed with ever-more sophisticated computers, scanners and color copiers.
The US$100 bill is the most frequent target of counterfeiters operating outside of the US while the US$20 bill is the favorite target of counterfeiters inside the country.
The redesigned US$100 bill had originally been expected to go into circulation in late 2008 but its introduction was delayed.
The makeover, unveiled on Wednesday by Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, may leave people wondering if there's magic involved.
Benjamin Franklin is still on the C-note. But he has been joined by a disappearing Liberty Bell in an inkwell and a bright blue security ribbon composed of thousands of tiny lenses that magnify objects in mysterious ways. Move the bill, and the objects move in a different direction.
The new currency will not go into circulation until February 10 next year. That will give the government time to educate the public in the United States and around the world about the changes.
"We estimate that as many as two-thirds of all US$100 notes circulate outside the United States," said Bernanke, who stressed that the 6.5 billion older-design US$100 bills now in circulation will remain legal tender.
The US$100 bill, the highest value denomination in general circulation, is the last bill to undergo an extensive redesign. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing began the process in 2003, adding splashes of color to spruce up first the US$20 and then the US$50, US$10 and US$5 bills. The US$1 bill isn't getting a makeover.
The changes are aimed at thwarting counterfeiters who are armed with ever-more sophisticated computers, scanners and color copiers.
The US$100 bill is the most frequent target of counterfeiters operating outside of the US while the US$20 bill is the favorite target of counterfeiters inside the country.
The redesigned US$100 bill had originally been expected to go into circulation in late 2008 but its introduction was delayed.
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