Security Features On Bills

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

As most of you know, the US $20 has a new look. I got to thinking about what other security features might be interesting for the next time the US bills get a face lift.

  1. Full color portraits. Keep the same “etching” style of lines, just add full color instead of using simply black. Then those bills would look cool!

  2. Putting historical scenes on the back linked to whoever is on the front, like the $2 bill. My ideas for appropriate scenes:

$1 – Washington crossing the Delaware.
$5 – Gettysburg address.

Umm … well, with Grant you could have him and Lee at Appamatox, but we’ve already got one Civil War-themed item. So, let’s change out who is on the front for fun.

$20: Eisenhower on the front, D-Day on the back.
$50: MLK on the front, the Mall in 1963 on the back.
$100: Neil Armstrong on the front, the launch of Apollo 11 on the back.

I particularly like that last one because then it allows you to say “I’ve got a rocket in my pocket” along with all the ensuing double-entendre hilarity. Or you could be boring and go with the actual “One small step …” moon shot.

I seem to have left out the $10 … can’t think of anything else.

Any other ideas?

#2

We can’t put Armstrong on currency, he isn’t dead yet. We could ask him how bad he wants to be on the $100 bill and let him make that choice. I’m all for revamping the currency. Compared to other nations, our bills seem a bit bland.

#3

Bland? Mebbe so. But I’ll wager that an old style American C-note still opens more doors around the world than just about anything short of a gold piece or a .45 Smith & Wesson.

#4

I just got a handful of the new, pretty 20s from my ATM. I was looking at all the security features (and I’m sure there are some I don’t even know about) and I was thinking, “Sheesh. Talk about overkill.”

Not that any of it bothers me - I just can’t imagine anyone going to all the trouble of printing up their own money anyway. I think it would be lots easier to get a job or something.