Comments on: Redesigned $100 Bill Delayed

By: Munze

Munze — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 02:43:28 +0000

Sarah, I’ve had the same concerns for a long time. Many countries eventually recall older notes but in the US just about any ancient bill can still be used. My wife worked for a record store and got a couple of counterfeit(*) 1950s-style fives that had been created on someone’s home printer. They wouldn’t pass muster against modern ones but compared to older bills without watermarks, security strips, etc. they were pretty decent fakes. I’m particularly puzzled that the BEP didn’t revise the $100 bill earlier, because so many of them are in use outside of the US and are favored by all sorts of scummy types like drug dealers and arms merchants. It seems to me that demonetizing the old ones and putting out a decent new version (not the art-school mess that’s now languishing in the BEP’s storerooms) might make a dent in their use by crooks.

(*) The punster in me can’t resist … isn’t a “counter fitter” someone who puts in kitchen cabinets?

By: Sarah Kay

Sarah Kay — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:56:40 +0000

The new 100’s may be counterfit proof, but were still going to have the same old 100’s and 50’s and 20’s and 10’s and 5’s and 1’s. The only way to make any currency fully counterfit proof, is to introduce the new one and recall every single old bill. Otherwise counterfitters will still use the old currency and still get away with it. The whole point of the new currency isn’t to be counterfit proof, its so the money looks newer. Thats it! There really is no reason for the new money. The old money works just the same and is still be circulated.

By: Munze

Munze — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:07:00 +0000

Oh well. I was hoping they were delaying the release so the bill could be re-redesigned to look a bit less like a middle-school art project. IMO our premier currency should reflect its status with a unified design. To me it looks like the BEP decided on a list of anti-counterfeiting features and just jumbled them together.

And Webmaster, could someone please fix “rollout”? That’s a noun; the verb is two words, not one.