U.S. Treasury unveils new $100 bill
To see pictures of both sides of the new $100 note, click here.
TEXT OF STORY
Steve Chiotakis: Ben Franklin gets a new look today. The government’s unveiling its latest currency redesign — this time for the $100 bill. Marketplace’s Mitchell Hartman reports on a change to the very popular U.S. export.
Mitchell Hartman: I checked my wallet and, nope, I don’t have a $100 in there. Almost never do. But foreigners’ wallets, well that’s a different story. Dennis Forgue is an expert in coins and currency in Chicago:
Dennis Forgue: Almost 70 percent of the $100 bills issued are overseas. It’s the standard note to hold money in, no matter where you go.
And that attracts foreign criminals, says Michael Lambert. He’s Assistant Director for Cash at the Federal Reserve Board:
Michael Lambert: Because it does circulate so widely, it is the note of choice for counterfeiters abroad.
Dennis Forgue says the new hundred will be harder to counterfeit. And better-looking, too.
Forgue: We’re the last country that has very bland notes. We’re colorizing like the rest of the world.
In addition to color, the bills will include embedded images that make them harder to copy.
There’ll be a big PR campaign before the new C-notes come out later this year. That’s to give consumers, retailers and cash-sorting machines time to recognize them as the real thing.
I’m Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.
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