Monday, October 7, 2013

Counterfeit-Proof (maybe) by Bob Cummins

     It's been almost 100 years since the first $100 bill was issued.  The bill is now getting a face-lift after all this time.  The purpose of this change is to stop counterfeiters.  
    The $100 bill, a common form of currency, and the highest form of United States money, is frequently counterfeited.  "Therefore, we took the necessary time to develop advanced security features that are easy for the public to use in everyday transactions, but difficult for counterfeiters to replicate," says Michael Lambert, the assistant director of money at the Federal Reserve Board.
    They will make the bills out of a paper-blend that's hard to replicate.  The number 100 on the bill will be green instead of copper, a 3D blue security ribbon that looks like it moves when the bill is tilted, and a copper image of a inkwell with a holographic bell in it that changes its color when tilted.
     "Protect yourself -- it only takes a few seconds to check the new $100 note and know it's real," says Larry R. Felix, director of the bureau of engraving and printing of the Treasury.   Old bills will still be usable.

     On the subject of updating money, I knew that Canada has recently updated its money.  This is a great way to prevent people from losing a lot of money.  The bill pretty much looks the same except for some differences (the blue stripe, etc.), so the average Joe will be able to recognize that it's a $100 bill.  This article was written to tell people about the change, even though old bills will still be taken.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/10/07/benjamin-franklin-gets-facelift-redesigned-high-tech-100-bill-to-circulate/

2 comments:

  1. At first glance, this is a good idea, but it worries me that this information is now openly available on the internet. Even though the average person can now identify a fake, counterfeiters now know how to create one. But, this is a catch-22: how can you inform the public without also giving information to people who will use it to do illegal things? Maybe, because of this, it isn't such a great idea after all.

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  2. I think this is a good idea even if the information is going to be on the internet, because the truth of the matter is that if the government didn't say anything about it on the internet then somebody else would, so that is kind of and inescapable problem. Besides that this idea is a good safety precaution to have so people cant print thier own money and mess up the economy.

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