Let’s talk about money. This is a $100 bill. 5-year-old me would be incredibly stoked if
he knew he would one day get to hold one of these. Actually, he’d be confused, because a 100
dollar bill looked quite a bit different when I was a wee lad. This particular design was unveiled on April
1, 2010, and entered circulation in the United States on October 8, 2013. The C-note gets redesigned about every 6-10
years, which means we’re about due for a new one. All of our notes are in need of an update,
actually. United States currency gets a lot of flak
for looking sort of dull, featuring nothing but buildings on the back, and dead presidents
on the front - except these two, these two were actually never elected - but, you get
the point: compared to other banknotes worldwide, ours aren't very flashy. There are a number of reasons for this. Tradition plays probably the biggest role,
but another important factor is security. High denomination bills contain several anti-counterfeiting
measures, and designing around these makes it difficult for the bills to look good. Take this $100 bill, for example. The designers of this modern version had to
find a way to seamlessly blend the classic design that citizens were familiar with, while
mitigating a slew of new security features that are difficult to incorporate in a way
that feels natural. Not to mention the fact that the bill itself
needs a low manufacturing cost so that it can be produced on a mass scale. It might surprise you to learn that it costs
12 and a half cents to produce this particular bill - and while that SEEMS like a small price
to pay for $100, when you realize this is actually a 60% increase over the previous
design, (and that the government prints 1 and a half billion of these bills every year)
you begin to understand the importance making every penny count. So, what does 12 and a half cents buy you
in terms of anti-counterfeiting measures? Let’s take a look. It starts with the bill’s paper, which,
ironically, isn’t actually paper at all, but rather a fabric, consisting of a linen
and cotton blend, which allows the bill to last longer and endure thousands upon thousands
of foldings. It goes even further than that: embedded inside
of the bill’s fabric are tiny red and blue security fibers that make it extremely difficult
to produce a counterfeit material that looks and feels authentic. Printed on the back of the bill is a vignette
of Independence Hall, and on the front, a classic portrait of Benjamin Franklin. This has been the standard imageset of the
$100 bill for the past few decades, but the newest model takes it a step further with
some important security improvements. Place your finger onto Franklin's shoulder
on the left side of the bill. Move it up and down, and you'll feel a rough
texture, thanks to an enhanced raised printing technique. Genuine C-notes have a distinct surface (different
from other denominations) and many a counterfeit bill has been detected simply because it "didn't
feel right". Next, move your attention to Franklin’s
jacket collar. You might need a magnifying glass to see it,
but using a process called microprinting, the phrase “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”
is etched along the collar’s edge. USA 100 is printed around the blank space
containing the portrait watermark, ONE HUNDRED USA along the golden quill, and small 100
numbers in the bill's border design. On the back, a large gold 100 has been placed
to assist people with vision impairments in distinguishing between the different denominations. On the front, some of the classic design choices
are retained. The double seals on either side (one for the
Federal Reserve System, and one for the US Department of Treasury.) The serial code, a unique combination of eleven
numbers and letters, appears twice, and, underneath the left code is a letter and number that
identifies which Federal Reserve Bank distributed the bill. But enough of the small stuff. Let’s get to the big security features! Probably the most striking thing about the
$100 bill is the introduction of a 3D Security Ribbon that's placed just off-center. The ribbon is woven into the design, not printed. If you try and remove it, the bill is essentially
destroyed, and becomes worthless. Tilt the note back and forth, and you'll see
the bells displayed on the ribbon change into 100s. Tilt it side to side, and the embedded images
move up and down. Next, the copper inkwell. Tilt the note, and you'll see a color-shifting
bell inside of it that changes from copper to green, making it seem as if the bell is
disappearing and reappearing. A similar feature appears on the numeral 100
in the lower right corner. Tilting the bill will cause it to shift from
copper to green, as well. Next, like most other bills, there's a secondary
portrait that appears in watermark on the side of the note. Hold the bank note up to a light, and a faint
image of Benjamin Franklin can be seen in the blank space to the right of the portrait. The image is visible from both sides of the
note, and still remains an important part of quickly identifying fake bills. Counterfeiters will often attempt to convert
smaller denomination bills into larger ones, but this embedded watermark helps to prevent
such tricks. If you hold a one-hundred up to the light
and see a different portrait in the blank space, you'll know a counterfeiter is attempting
to pass a smaller bill off as a larger one. And finally, a hidden Security thread is embedded
on the left side of the bill. Hold up a light to the note, and you'll see
it. In fact, all denominations, five dollars and
up have this feature, all in separate locations on the bills. This particular note's thread is imprinted
with the letters USA and the numeral 100 in an alternating pattern. The security thread glows pink when illuminated
by ultraviolet light. Taken together, the improvements to the $100
bill illustrate a substantial leap forward not only in printing technology, but the effort
that the federal government will go to to keep funny money out of our pockets. But, as printing technology like this becomes
more and more ubiquitous, they’ll have to work harder and harder to stay ahead of the
curve. So, what will the next generation of bank
notes look like in America? With the estimated lifespan of many of these
bills reaching their conclusion, we won’t have to wait very long to find out. Ever come across a counterfeit bill? Tell me your story in the comments! Discovering that the cash in your pocket is
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