High-tech design for new $100 bill

WASHINGTON - The folks who print America's money have designed a high-tech makeover of the $100 bill, complete with disappearing Liberty Bells and magical ribbons.

It is part of an effort to stay ahead of counterfeiters as copying technology becomes more sophisticated and more dollars flow overseas.

The makeover was introduced by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke in the Treasury Department's ornate Cash Room on Wednesday.

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 go into circulation Feb. 10. 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 $100 notes circulate outside the United States," said Bernanke, who said the 6.5 billion in $100 bills now in circulation will remain legal tender.

The $100 bill, the highest value denomination in general circulation, is the final bill to undergo this latest round of redesigns. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing began the process in 1996 with an initial round of makeovers.

Those changes were followed in 2003 with a series that added more sophisticated anticounterfeiting features including splashes of color, which have been added to the $50, $20, $10, and $5 denominations. The $1 bill is not getting a makeover.

All the changes are aimed at thwarting counterfeiters who are armed with sophisticated computers, scanners, and color copiers. The $100 bill is the most frequent target of counterfeiters operating outside of the United States while the $20 bill is the favorite of counterfeiters inside the country.

The new blue security ribbon will give a 3-D effect to the microimages that the thousands of lenses will magnify. Tilt the note and you will see tiny bells on the ribbon change to 100s as they move.

Tilt the note back and forth and the images will move side to side. Tilt the note side to side and the images will move up and down.

In addition, to the right of Franklin's portrait will be an inkwell that will change color from copper to green when the note is tilted. The movement will also make a Liberty Bell appear and disappear inside the inkwell.

The $100 bill also will feature a quill pen above the inkwell and a pale yellow splash of color on the far right of Franklin's portrait, and when this is held up to the light, a faint image of Franklin can be seen. In addition, there will be a large gold 100 on the back of the note to help those with vision impairments.

The bureau of engraving is preparing recommendations for Geithner on how to comply with a court ruling that the nation's currency needed to offer more features to help the visually impaired, but no decisions on those changes have yet been made.

For the redesigned $100, Franklin will remain on the front of the bill and Independence Hall in Philadelphia will remain on the back, although both have been modified in ways aimed at making it harder to produce counterfeit copies of the bills.