NEW YORK CITY
– The most secure currency in U.S.
history was introduced into the economy today, as a newly
redesigned, colorful $20 bill was issued by the Federal
Reserve System.
In dozens of communities from
coast to coast, U.S. government officials and local business,
banking and civic leaders participated in transactions with
the new $20 notes, marking the first opportunity for the
public to spend the new currency. Today is the first day
banks will receive the new bills from the Federal Reserve
System, and in turn begin distributing them to their customers.
It will take several days or even weeks for the bills to
make their way to all communities in the U.S. and internationally.
The new designs will co-circulate with old-design $20 notes,
until, gradually, the old-design notes become worn and are
pulled from circulation.
“The New Color of Money
starts making its way into cash registers and wallets today,”
said Tom Ferguson, director of the U.S. Treasury’s
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). “This is a
historic milestone on two fronts: for the first time in
modern history, U.S. currency features background colors
other than black and green, and, more importantly, this
currency is the most secure U.S. currency ever, to protect
against counterfeiting.”
“While much of the public
will be anxious to see and handle this newly designed $20
bill, we want to emphasize that older-design $20 notes are
still in circulation, and still maintain their value,”
said Marsha Reidhill, the Federal Reserve Board’s
assistant director for cash and fiscal agency. A genuine
U.S. $20 bill – whether it has the new background
colors or the familiar green and black – is legal
tender, worth $20. It is important to remember that all
bills are good, for good. The stability and integrity of
U.S. currency has kept worldwide trust and confidence high,
and the government is committed to keeping it that way.”
The BEP and the Federal Reserve
System have been educating the public worldwide about the
new bills in professional and community settings, in preparation
for a smooth transition this fall. Over 37 million items
of training materials such as brochures, posters, training
videos and CD-ROMS, have been ordered by businesses large
and small to train their cash-handling employees on the
bill’s new look and updated security features. Additionally,
there have been more than 2 million visits to the new money
Web site (www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney) for information.
The public education program continues globally with broadcast,
print, Internet and other public education advertising;
and integration of the new money’s look and security
features will be featured in the story lines of television
programs that reach millions of viewers.
Ferguson and Reidhill marked
today’s historic issue of the new $20 bill in New
York City’s Times Square, where they will spend the
new twenties in Times Square area businesses. In Washington,
D.C., Michael Lambert, the Federal Reserve Systems Financial
Services Manager who is responsible for cash, and the BEP’s
Chief of the Office of Currency Production, James Brent,
demonstrated the effectiveness of the government’s
advance preparation for the new money by using a new $20
note to buy stamps from a vending machine at a U.S. Postal
Service facility. The government began working with the
vending machine industry and transit authorities more than
a year ago to ensure there was ample time for adjustments
so machines will accept the new bills.
Events marking the first purchases
with the new $20 notes were held today in more than 30 U.S.
cities. Later this month, the issue of the new $20 bill
will be marked by international events in dollarized economies
and in countries where U.S. currency is widely held, such
as Russia and countries throughout Latin America.
The New Color of Money:
Safer. Smarter. More Secure.
The most noticeable difference
in the new $20 notes is the subtle green, peach and blue
colors featured in the background. New designs for the $50
and $100 notes are scheduled for introduction in 2004 and
2005, respectively. Different colors will be used for different
denominations, which will help everyone – particularly
those who are visually impaired – to tell denominations
apart. Redesign of the $5 and $10 notes is under consideration,
but the $1 and $2 notes will not be redesigned.
While consumers should not
use color to check the authenticity of their currency (relying
instead on user-friendly security features – see below),
color does add complexity to the note, making counterfeiting
more difficult.
The new $20 bills maintain
the traditional U.S. currency appearance, are the same size,
and use the same, but enhanced portraits and historical
images of Andrew Jackson on the face of the note and the
White House on the back. The redesign also features new
symbols of freedom – a blue eagle in the background,
and a metallic green eagle and shield to the right of Jackson’s
portrait.
Security Features
The new $20 note design retains three important security
features that were first introduced in the late 1990s and
are easy for consumers and merchants alike to check:
The watermark – the
faint image similar to the large portrait, which is part
of the paper itself and is visible from both sides when
held up to the light.
The security thread – also visible from both sides
when held up to the light, this vertical strip of plastic
is embedded in the paper. “USA TWENTY” and a
small flag are visible along the thread.
The color-shifting ink – the numeral “20”
in the lower-right corner on the face of the note changes
from copper to green when the note is tilted. The color
shift is more dramatic and easier to see on the new-design
notes.
Because these features are difficult for counterfeiters
to reproduce well, they often do not try. Counterfeiters
are hoping that cash-handlers and the public will not check
their money closely.
Counterfeiting: Increasingly
Digital
Currency counterfeiters are increasingly turning to digital
methods, as advances in technology make digital counterfeiting
of currency easier and cheaper. In 1995, for example, less
than 1 percent of counterfeit notes detected in the U.S.
were digitally produced. By 2002, that number had grown
to nearly 40 percent, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
Yet despite the efforts of
counterfeiters, U.S. currency counterfeiting has been kept
at low levels, with current estimates putting the level
of counterfeit notes in circulation worldwide at between
0.01 and 0.02 percent, or about 1-2 notes in every 10,000
genuine notes.
To
learn more about the new currency and to download an image
of the new $20 note, visit www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney.
