NEW Currency Issued

MAGNIFYING GLASS TO BECOME STANDARD EQUIPMENT The Department of the Treasury announced on July 25 that new currency is being issued designed to protect against counterfeiting by copier, scanner, and computer-based printer equipment.

Treasury had previously made known its intention to develop a tri-color note, with plastic threads embedded in it to prohibit copying, but a spokesman for Treasury said they discovered it was much too costly a process to be practical. The color will remain exactly the same, but there are distinct changes in the design.

$100 bills are the first to be put into circulation. The $50 note will start being distributed in late 1991, and the $20 note probably before 1993. $10 and $5 bills will be released sometime after that, with all new issue currency being out within five years according to the Treasury news release. The $1 note will not be reissued, as Treasury does not feel the $1 bill is at great risk.

The changeover of currency will be done at first as replacement notes in the normal circulation process. However, when there are sufficient inventories of the new bills, all old series bills will be replaced regardless of their condition. This is being done to provide the public with security enhanced notes as early as possible. The Treasury wants the public to be aware, however, that the currency they now hold will remain legal tender. As it is sent in the normal course of business to the Federal Reserve from financial institutions, it will be replaced by the new currency.

Three Areas To Check
There are three areas for you to check on the new $100 bills.

FIRST-The first is the polyester security thread on the left side of the face in the clear field between the border and the Federal Reserve seal.

The letters "USA" and the bill's denomination are printed on the strip in an alternating up-and-down pattern. Easily seen when held to the light, the strip cannot be reproduced on copiers.



SECOND-The second place to check to be sure of the authenticity of the bill is the area around the portrait.

"THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" is printed repeatedly along the sides of the portrait. The letters are almost seven thousandths of an inch, and will appear like a thin line to the naked eye. They can only be read with a magnifier. If reproduced on a copier, it will appear even under magnification as a solid line.



THIRD-The quickest way to check the new bill is to look first at the series year, found to the left of the Secretary of the Treasury's signature. It should be "Series 1990".

All $100 and $50 notes Series 1990 or later will have the security thread and microprinting. Series 1988A and earlier will not have it. There is no Series 1989.

United States currency's last major change was in 1929 when the size was reduced and uniform designs were adopted. In 1955 "In God We Trust" was added and in 1966 the Treasury seal was changed to an English inscription.

ATM's Not Affected
ATMs, change machines, and postal stamp machines will not be affected by the new currency. The magnetic print has not been changed, nor has the size changed.

Also still in place are the lacy, weblike border, the detailed and sharp Treasury and Federal Reserve seals, the embedded red and blue fibers, the distinct and lifelike portrait, and the distinctive >
The new counterfeiting deterrent features, (the security thread of polyester and the microprinting on the border of the portrait), are to foil those counterfeiters who might attempt to use the new, very sophisticated color copiers, laser scanners and digital printing equipment expected to be widely available within the coming years.

We Tried?

Interestingly enough, BANKERS' HOTLINE tried all over the country to obtain a new $100 bill so we could show you a picture of a real one, (black and white reproductions are permitted, as long as they are larger than 150% or smaller than 75% of genuine currency)-but we were told the bills "were not yet available." You may have trouble getting them for your customers who are probably already requesting them. Tell them to be patient. Treasury says they're on the way.

Copyright © 1991 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 2, No. 7, 8/91