The Redesigned $100 Bill Will Finally Enter Circulation

About three years ago we first talked about how the $100 bill was going to be going through a full redesign, similar to the $5 bill.

The new design was implemented not only to give the $100 bill an updated look and feel, but also to update the security features contained within the bill in order to help thwart counterfeiters. When the design was released it was announced that over a decade of research and development went into creating the new $100 bill, and it was going to be the most secure bill released to date. And it would have been if it had ever been put into circulation.

Delays In Getting The New $100 Bill Into Circulation

While there may have been a decade of R&D that went into creating the bill that was announced in 2010, it still hasn’t been released 3 years later due to unforeseen delays in production of the bill.

So what was the problem in production? After digging a bit I found that they postponed the intro of the bill due to sporadic creasing of paper during printing of the bills, which caused problems with the bills printed in those runs. The problem was not apparent during test printing of the bill, and they had to get those problems fixed before they could do large-scale printing of new bills.

The $100 bill is one of the most widely used notes, with over 8.6 billion of them currently in circulation. What’s number 1? The $1 bill with over 10.3 billion notes in circulation. (source)

New $100 Dollar Bill Will Begin Circulating In October 2013

This past week the Federal Reserve announced that the new $100 bill would be released into the wild and put into circulation in October of 2013.

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced that the redesigned $100 note will begin circulating on October 8, 2013. This note, which incorporates new security features such as a blue, 3-D security ribbon, will be easier for the public to authenticate but more difficult for counterfeiters to replicate.

The new design for the $100 note was unveiled in 2010, but its introduction was postponed following an unexpected production delay. To ensure a smooth transition to the redesigned note when it begins circulating in October, the U.S. Currency Education Program is reaching out to businesses and consumers around the world to raise awareness about the new design and inform them about how to use its security features

So beginning on October 8th, the new bill will start being circulated when any commercial bank, savings and loan, or credit union orders $100 notes from the Federal Reserve.  So you should start seeing the new bills around that time as well, although the old $100 bills will continue in circulation for some time.

Security Features Of The New $100 Dollar Bill

So what are some of the new security features that they’re telling us about in the new $100 bill?

• 3-D security ribbon: There is a blue ribbon woven into the bill itself (not on top of the paper) that when you tilt the bill will show “100″  written vertically.
• Inkwell superimposed on the Liberty Bell: An orange inkwell near Franklin’s left shoulder will show the Liberty Bell when you tilt the bill.
• Portrait watermark: On the right side of the bill there is now a watermark portrait of Ben Franklin.
• 100 that changes color: The orange 100 in the lower right will shift colors as you move the bill.
• Big 100 on the back:  The large gold 100 on the back of the new $100 bill has been added to help the visually impaired.
• Micro-printing: There is now micro-printing all over the bill.  “The United States of America” is printed in tiny letters on Franklin’s collar. “USA 100″ is around the blank space of the watermark.  “One Hundred USA” is along the golden quill.  100s appear on the borders of the bill.

So those are just the security features that they’re telling us about with these new bills, I’m sure there are others that we may not find out about that they’re keeping close to the vest.