Fed Says Redesigned $100 Bill Ready by October

By Martin Crutsinger AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON, April 24, 2013 (AP)

Redesigned $100 Bill Ready by October

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it will begin circulating a redesigned $ 100 bill this fall, more than two years after its initial goal. 

The Federal Reserve has set a new deadline of October 8 The redesigned incorporates additional safety features, such as a blue ribbon safety 3-D and the Liberty Bell in an inkwell disappears. 

The features are designed to thwart counterfeiters. It was hoped that the renewed bill to enter circulation in February 2011. But in December 2010, the authorities announced an indefinite delay. 

They said they needed more time to fix production problems left unwanted creases in many of the notes. "We have made many changes in the process of addressing the issue of folding and we are back in full production," said Dawn Haley, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 

Haley said that these changes include modifying the paper feeder in printing machines to accommodate variations in the paper associated with safety belt 3-D. The blue security ribbon is composed of thousands of tiny lenses.

The lenses magnify the objects underneath them to make them appear to be moving in the opposite direction to the way the bill is moving. Benjamin Franklin portrait will remain in the $ 100, the highest value denomination in general circulation.

It is also the most frequent target of counterfeiters. The $ 100 is the last note to undergo an extensive renovation aimed at thwarting counterfeiters copying machines, increasingly sophisticated. The redesign began in 2003 when the government adds touches of color on the $ 20 bill. 

That makeover was followed by redesigns of the $ 50, $ 10 and $ 5 bills. The $ 1 bill is not getting a makeover. An extensive public education effort is planned for businesses and consumers around the world to raise awareness of the new design and provide information on the use of new security features. Fed officials said the information about the new design $ 100 can be found in www.newmoney.gov.