The US Federal Reserve will debut USD100 dollar bills which will begin circulating tomorrow (Tues, Oct 08). And there’s several dazzlingly new features concerning this latest Benjamin.
The front of the new bill features a bluish-purple security ribbon that’s three-dimensional (the strip is actually woven into the paper). When the bill is moved, a printed Liberty Bell and the number 100 appear to scroll down the ribbon.
Also, a vibrant copper-colored inkwell emblazoned over part of the Declaration of Independence printed on the bill’s front side reveals a color-changing Liberty Bell inside it when the bill is tilted.
Both of these new features offer a simple and subtle way to verify that a new $100 note is real.
This new $100 note is the latest denomination of U.S. currency to be redesigned. Over a decade of research and development went into its new security features.
According to linked article above, the $100 is the second most common bill in circulation, behind only the $1 bill. Apparently it’s actually slightly more common than the $20 bill.
What do you think of the new appearance? I think it looks great, have gotten used to the previous bills - which when first coming out looked to me like they were derived from the Milton Bradley game of Monopoly.
The new implemented designs - which are intended to prevent counterfeiting, apparently don’t come cheaply. CBS News is reporting that each bill costs around 4 cents more to produce than the old $100 notes - meaning that taxpayers will shell out an extra $100 million this year to print these sparkling spring chickens.
Some bank customers could start seeing the new bills by Tuesday afternoon depending on how close their bank is to a regional Fed facility.
“We have 3.5 billion of these notes which we think will be more than ample to meet domestic and international demands,” said Sonja Danburg, program manager for U.S. currency education at the Fed.
I believe it, especially when you consider the fact that many of these 100s are held outside the US. Basically, if you’re the type to stuff cash in a mattress, you’re stuffing 100s.
It doesn’t mean that 100s are actually used more often than bills like 20s, just that more are in circulation.
Yeah, I don’t think there’s anything fishy about that stat, either, for the same reasons. I wasn’t even considering foreign holdings, just people I know and what they keep in their cash reserves.
I think you’re right, Justin Bailey - at least as far as which bills are most commonly seen in the wallets of the Mom’s and Pop’s of America - that 100’s are not as common as the linked OP article states. But like dracoi and **pulykamell **point out, when considering and factoring in how many bills are held abroad, US100’s are quite common.
Yep. And when I was working with lawyers, I had to make many a bank run with $10,000 worth of 100s stuffed in an envelope for the retainer. There’s a LOT of 100s out there, especially if you are involved in illicit activity or trying to live in a paperless cash economy. In my experience, first generation immigrants also tend to sock away money and keep them in 100s, even if they also have bank accounts and investments.
"Hi there! I am a One Hundred Dollar United States Federal Reserve note! I am Legal Tender for all debts, public and private! I am backed by the Full Faith and Credit of the United States!
"Hi there! I am a One Hundred Dollar United States Federal Reserve note! I am Legal Tender for all debts, public and private! I am backed by the Full Faith and Credit of the United States!
“Hi there! I am a One Hundred Dollar United States Federal Reserve note! I am Legal Tender for all debts, public and private! I am backed by the Full Faith and Credit of the United States!”
I dunno. That’s cool and all, but I imagine it would get old pretty fast. Shades of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation.
The way I heard it, $20 bills are more common in the United States.
But overseas and throughout the whole world, $100 bills are more popular. Something like 2/3 of $100s are outside the US.
I’d imagine that in places like Zimbabwe where the local currency is dead and banks are likely untrustworthy (not sure what currency they even use), you’d hoard US and other bills. Although I don’t know if the income is high enough to get lots of (any) $100s.