Menu
If you have ever attempted a life as a counterfeiter, or done a stupid school project where you tried to print your own money, you already know this: you can’t make a copy of any type of bill.
The Federal Reserve of the United States will begin circulating a new $100 bill on Tuesday. The redesigned bank note, which has been delayed by more than 2 and a half years, includes a number of measures designed to make it more difficult to counterfeit, including a 3D security ribbon and a new 'bell in the inkwell.'
Though the new note will still feature the familiar portrait of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, alongside this will be a new vertical blue ribbon woven into the paper. The fine 3D nature of the ribbon creates a number of visual effects as the note is viewed or manipulated in various ways. Little bells that appear in the ribbon change to 100s as the angle of view is altered, and the pattern can be made to move either up and down or side to side by tilting the note in various directions.
Also on the front of the note is a copper-colored inkwell. This also includes a bell, which changes in appearance from copper to green as the note is tilted, with the effect that the bell seems to disappear and reappear. The large copper 100 in the lower-right corner of the front also color-shifts to green when tilted.
Other measures designed to make the note harder to reproduce are raised printing (used, among other places, on Franklin's shoulder), watermarks, serial numbers, and the microprinting of tiny characters on Franklin's collar, along the bill's quill, and around its borders. Such features have been used previously with other bill denominations. Other changes are designed to make the note easier to distinguish.
If you think this story is only of interested to our American readers, think again. Federal Reserve estimates put the proportion of exported $100 bills at between a half and two-thirds of the total. The $100 bill is the most counterfeited US bill outside of the country, and so, according to the New York Times, the Federal Reserve has taken the time to translate its newmoney.gov website into 23 languages.
The New York Times reports that the bill has been delayed from a launch in February of 2011 due to errors in the printing process. Gizmag originally reported on the redesigned bill in April, 2010.
For the time being, older $100 bills remain legal tender.
To celebrate the release of the new $100 bill, we’re giving away $100!
Images of the new $100 bill were released this week. The new 100 dollar bills will be issued on February 10, 2011.
Update: The Federal Reserve updated the new issue date to October 8, 2013. Production issues delayed the rollout.
Latest Update: A July 2013 letter from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing states there is another delay. The newly printed bills had too much ink applied, referred to as “mashing”. More than 30 million $100 bills will be destroyed.
What happens to your old $100 bills? No worries, they’re still valid and you don’t need to trade them in.
Picture of the New $100 Bill
The new 100 dollar bill shows phrases from the Declaration of Independence and the quill the Founding Fathers used to sign. Here is a picture of the new 100 dollar bill from the front:
The back of the new 100 dollar bill has a new enlarged vignette of Independence Hall. It shows the back instead of the front of the building. Here is an image of the new 100 dollar bill from the back:
New $100 Bill
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has an educational website which includes all kinds of information, more than I ever needed to know, about our money and the new 100 dollar bill.
Did you know the $100 bill is the most widely circulated? I sure didn’t!
Security Features
Of course, the new 100 dollar bill has a few new security features to prevent counterfeiting. They include:
- New: The Blue 3-D Security Ribbon on the front of the new $100 bill contains images of bells and 100s that move and change from one to the other as you tilt the note.
- New: The Bell in the Inkwell changes color from copper to green when the note is tilted, an effect that makes it seem to appear and disappear within the copper inkwell.
- Portrait watermark of Benjamin Franklin
- Security thread
- Color-shifting numeral 100
Now that you know what the new 100 dollar bill looks like, it’s time to make your money work harder.
You can get my latest articles full of valuable tips and other information delivered directly to your email for free simply by entering your email address below. Your address will never be sold or used for spam and you can unsubscribe at any time.