New $100 bill a counterfeiters' nightmare

By on Apr 21, 2010 at 4:20 PM
News April 21, 2010

new-100-bill

Sure, this doesn’t exactly fit in with what we normally cover at BGR, but when we saw what the Treasury Department did with the design of the newly unveiled $100 bill we just couldn’t help but whip up this post. To enter into circulation in February 2011, the new $100 bill features a range of new security features that will help the average person discern what’s real from what’s fake. The two features Uncle Sam is most proud about are the 3D Security Ribbon and the Bell in the Inkwell. The 3D Security Ribbon is on the front of the bill, and is laced with images of bells and 100s which shift into one another when the note is tilted. The Bell in the Inkwell, found immediately to the right of the 3D Security Ribbon, changes from copper to green when the bill is moved giving the illusion of the bell disappearing into the inkwell. Other features and items that have been enhanced from the previous design includes a portrait watermark of Benjamin Franklin, a security thread, color-shifting 100, a gold 100, raised printing, and microprinting. If you happen to have a few stacks stacks of $100s lying around, don’t worry about them losing their status as legal tender because the Treasury Department isn’t planning on recalling the any of the existing 6.5 billion bills. If you’re pretty confused about all of this, just click the read link. The ol’ reliable forces of bureaucracy have assembled what looks to be a rather comprehensive (and no doubt expensive) website that’s chock-full of informative goodness.

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  • Joe

    Interesting article. But it begs the question: People still use cash?

  • Joe

    Interesting article. But it begs the question: People still use cash?

  • Joe cool guy

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………People still use cash?

  • Andrew Duong

    Canada’s had this for awhile, and there are counterfeits that replicates the security strip perfectly. It’s quite amazing actually.

  • moikes

    First off – you had best use cash to buy your smokes and booze lest your insurance provider subpoena your debit and credit card activity in the process of denying you benefits. It’s only a matter of time before *you* write the database query to do such things.

    Second – The fact that we use such a celebrated atheist on our currency gives me hope:

    “The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.”

    “Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.”

  • Derek

    Let me “like” this story. Engadget will.

  • http://www.GiftMonkey.com/?s=176291 Carlos A.

    WOW new $100 I never new one…! I can’t wait…

  • http://web.me.com/mel.tan/ThoughtForFood/Journal/Journal.html Mel

    Wow, it looks like Benjamin is trippin’ there with the rainbow colors.

  • Chris

    In just a few short years nobody will care about USD anyway. China now rules the world. Is anybody else scared yet?

    • Malfoy Roark

      scared that we’ll be using the yuan soon?

      Nope.

      • Jackson S.

        Let’s see China fix its internal strife, take control of Taiwan or let it go free, establish a strong middle class, and create a system that promotes free thought and therefore advancement, and then you can say they rule the world.

  • roebling

    An America accustomed to frequent currency changes presents a new opportunity for “counterfeiters”–why don’t they just create their own currency design? They could make it with whatever tech they had laying around, put in their own “anti-counterfeiting” features, and, if caught, they wouldn’t actually be guilty of counterfeiting because their design would be original.

  • titer
  • http://www.iooj.com Zhangzhou

    I like it. When can use?

  • bipolar2

    New Imperial Credits for 2011? Ship’em by the pallet load to buy off the local warlords.

    The designers missed such an opportunity to show old Ben’s kite and a disappearing – reappearing lightning bolt.

  • Lkfdsj

    If I was a counterfeiter I would just counterfeit older, easier to fake notes and then beat them up a bit so they feel old… The new $100 looks tight though.

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