Press Releases
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2004 |
Contacts:
Dawn Haley
(202) 874-3019
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Rose Pianalto or Susan Stawick
(202) 452-2955
Federal Reserve Board
Penny Kozakos
(202) 530-4887
New Color of Money Media Support
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U.S. Businesses, Banks, And Cash-Handling Equipment Manufacturers Get Final Alert To Prepare For New $50 Note
Treasury and Federal Reserve Announce Safer, Smarter, More Secure $50 Note To Begin Circulating September 28
Washington, DC — June 30, 2004 — The newly redesigned Series
2004 $50 notes, featuring subtle background colors of blue and red, images of
a waving American flag and a small metallic silver-blue star, will be issued
beginning on September 28, the U.S. government announced today. On the day of
issue, the Federal Reserve Banks will begin distributing the new notes to the
public through commercial banks.
Today’s announcement of the $50 note’s day of issue signals to
banks and businesses that they should make final preparations for the new notes.
For some businesses, preparations include training cash-handling employees on
how to use the notes’ security features, for others it entails making
technical adjustments to ATMs or machines with cash receptors, such as vending
or automated checkout machines.
“The enhanced security features in this series of notes help ensure that
U.S. currency will continue to represent the trust, value and confidence that
people all over the world have grown to rely on and expect,” said Federal
Reserve Board Governor Mark W. Olson. “As always, all new notes will co-circulate
with the older designs. All notes are good for good.”
“The objective of the new currency program is a safer, smarter and more
secure currency and its smooth transition into daily commerce,” said Tom
Ferguson, director of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing
(BEP). “To that end, we have been working with the appropriate machine
manufacturers for nearly two years to ensure they have the information they
need to make their equipment compatible with each newly redesigned note that
is introduced into circulation.”
The redesigned $50 note is the second in the Series 2004 new currency designs.
A redesigned $20 note was issued in October 2003. A redesigned $100 note is
also planned. A decision has not been made on whether the $10 and $5 notes will
be redesigned, but the $1 and $2 designs will not change.
Public Education
Because the improved security features are more effective if the public knows
about them, the U.S. government is undertaking a broad, worldwide public education
program. This program will ensure that people all over the world know the new
currency is coming, and help them recognize and use the security features. The
outreach includes cash-handlers, merchants, business and industry associations
and the media. There is nearly $700 billion in circulation worldwide, and as
much as two-thirds of U.S. currency is held outside the United States.
A variety of training materials – such as posters, training videos and
brochures – is available in 24 languages. The materials can be downloaded
or ordered through www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney.
Since the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) began taking
orders in May 2003, more than 46 million pieces of training materials have been
ordered by businesses and other organizations to help them train their cash-handling
employees about the notes’ enhanced security features.
The New Color of Money
While consumers should not use color to check the authenticity of their currency
(relying instead on user-friendly security features – see below), color
does add complexity to the note, making counterfeiting more difficult. Different
colors are being used for different denominations, which will help everyone
– particularly those who are visually impaired – to tell denominations
apart.
Security Features
The new $50 design retains three important security features that were first
introduced in the 1990s and are easy for consumers and merchants alike to check:
Watermark: A faint image, similar to the portrait, which is
part of the paper itself and is visible from both sides when held up to the
light.
Security thread: Also visible from both sides when held up to
the light, this vertical strip of plastic is embedded in the paper and spells
out the denomination in tiny print.
Color-shifting ink: The numeral in the lower right corner on
the face of the note, indicating its denomination, changes color from copper
to green when the note is tilted.
Counterfeiting: Increasingly Digital
Counterfeiting has been kept at low levels through a combination of improvements
in security features, aggressive law enforcement and education efforts to inform
the public about how to check their currency. About 1 in 25,000 $50 notes is
a counterfeit, according to the Federal Reserve Board.
However, since 1995, digitally produced counterfeit notes have increased from
one percent of all counterfeits detected in the U.S. to 40 percent. To stay
ahead of counterfeiters as advances in technology make digital counterfeiting
of currency easier and cheaper, the government expects to redesign the currency
about every seven to ten years.
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