# brand new USD $100 bills to debut 10/08 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 7, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621 "2013-10-07T21:07:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/1 "2013-10-07T21:07:03Z")
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. > **[New $100 bill debuts](https://money.cnn.com/2013/10/07/news/economy/new-hundred-dollar-bill/index.html)** > > Government shutdown doesn't slow the roll out of the new $100 bill from the Federal Reserve. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/2 "2013-10-07T21:16:57Z")
The 30 sec video on the bottom of this page details the security features of the new $100 bill. It has sound. [http://www.newmoney.gov/education\_resources/videos.htm](http://www.newmoney.gov/education_resources/videos.htm) Also available here: > **[Download Softwares for Windows](https://guruprasad.net)** > > Download Softwares for Windows ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/3 "2013-10-07T21:22:30Z")
> [@Ostrya](#): > > 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. I don’t believe that for a second. But I like the look of the new 100. Do the rest government… oh, wait. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/4 "2013-10-07T21:28:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I don’t believe that for a second. > > But I like the look of the new 100. Do the rest government… oh, wait. 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. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/5 "2013-10-07T22:07:19Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > 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. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/6 "2013-10-07T22:32:45Z")
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. from the CNN Money article: > [@](#): > > The most recent statistics from the Fed show that as of Dec. 31, there were 10.3 billion $1 bills, in circulation, 8.6 billion $100 bills and 7.4 billion $20 bills, followed by $5’s, $10’s, $50’s and $2’s. A little more than 75% of the more than $1 trillion of currency in circulation is in $100 bills. Much of it is held outside the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/7 "2013-10-08T00:02:51Z")
Not to mention all warehouses the drug cartels have stuffed full of C-notes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/8 "2013-10-08T01:27:34Z")
> [@Glazer](#): > > Not to mention all warehouses the drug cartels have stuffed full of C-notes. 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. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/9 "2013-10-08T01:37:57Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > The 30 sec video on the bottom of this page details the security features of the new $100 bill. It has sound. "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. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/10 "2013-10-08T04:08:57Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/11 "2013-10-08T10:50:11Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > "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. I actually SOLed\* reading this! - Snorted Out Loud ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/12 "2013-10-08T10:54:06Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > 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. OK, that makes more sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brand-new-usd-100-bills-to-debut-10-08/670621/13 "2013-10-09T00:53:59Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > "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! Heh. Actually the video was produced a couple of years ago and received rave reviews or at least internet notoriety: Another link: [http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/04/do\_we\_need\_a\_new\_100\_bill.html](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/04/do_we_need_a_new_100_bill.html)