THE DISTRICT GROUP LUNCHEM MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2007 NEWS|5A MONEY ASSOCIATED PRESS With a $100 bill on it display, a money trader counts currency notes at a money exchange counter in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. U.S. currency has undergone a series of recent changes, and the next makeover involves the $100 bill, which represents more than 70 percent of the $776 billion of U.S. currency in circulation around the world. High-tech $100 bill uses tiny lenses to avoid fakes By MA RTIN CRUTSINGER Associated Press WASHINGTON — After six decades in which the venerable greenback never changed its look, the U.S. currency has undergone a slew of makeover s. The most amazing is yet to come. A new security y thread has been approved for the $100 bill. The Associated Press has learned, and the change will ca use double-takes. The new look, is part of an effort to thwart counterfeiters who are armed with ever-1 more sophisticated computers, scanners and color copiers. The C-note, with features the likeness of Benja min Franklin, is the most frequent target of counterfeiters operating o outside the United States. The operation of the new security thread looks like something straight out of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This magic, however, relies on innovations produced from decades of development. more printing in a Ternary kiosk way. Move the bill sid e to side and the It combines micro-printing with tiny lenses — 650,000 for a single $100 bill. The len sees magnify the micro-printing in a remarkable way. Move the image appears to move up and down. Move the bill up and down and the image appears to move from side to side. "It is a really complex optical structure on a microscopic scale. It makes for a very compelling high-secu- one-third of the way complete. The bill is expected to go into circulation late next year. Benjamin Franklin's latest makeover was delayed while the government searched for a high-tech security device that would provide extra protection on Starting in 2003, splashes of color have spruced up the $20 bill and other currencies. Those changes followed the addition of a first round of security features in the mid-1990s. protection on the bill. Hologramss used extensively on credit cards, were considered for the $100. They were rejected because they did not offer the strong visual signal the government wanted. The $100 bill represents more than 70 percent of the $776 billion in currency in circulation, two-thirds of which is held overseas. "It is a really complex optical structure on a microscopic scale. It makes for a very compelling high-security device." DOUGLAS CRANE Vice president, Crane & Co. Originally there were no plans to redesign the $5 bill. That decision was reversed once counterfeiters started bleaching $5 bills and printing fake $100 bills over the bleached paper; certain security features were in the same location on both bills. "We were looking for features that had very distinctive types of actions so that we could tell the American The redesign of the z $100 is about "Counterfeiting is becoming highly organized and highly efficient." Larry Felix, director r of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, confirmed details about the security thread in an AP inter view. rity device," said Doiglas Crane, a vice president at Cra ne & Co. The Dalton, Mass.-based c company has a $46 million contract t to produce the new security threads. LARRY FELIX Director Bureau of Engraving and Printing The new 55 design will be made public on Sept. 20 and will go into circulation early next year. a touch-up on Ben Franklin's portrait public, you will know that it is authentic if you do this and the note does that," Felix said. The new security thread is used on the Swedish 1,000 kroner note and has been selected by the government of Mexico for some higher denomination notes. Felix said many other devices expected to be included in the $100 redesign will be similar to features added over the past four years to the $20, $50 and $10 bills. That means subtle pastel colors on the currency and patches of micro-printing that are difficult to duplicate, along with The bleached bills represent the latest skirmish in a battle with counterfeiters. "Counterfeiting is becoming highly organized and highly efficient," Felix said. He said some clandestine printing plants in Latin America and Eastern Europe had been caught counterfeiting not only the U.S. currency but other countries' notes. The government says $118.1 million in counterfeit U.S. currency was detected in 2006, an increase of 3.8 percent from 2005. While that is a fraction of the currency in circulation, the Secret Service is concerned with the threat, especially the challenge posed by new digital technology. Digital copies account for about half of all counterfeit notes passed in the U.S., compared with less than 1 percent of all counterfeit bills detected in 1995. "The quality of the counterfeit currency has gone down, but the ease by which people can make this currency and the access to the computer equipment has had an impact on the rising numbers." Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said. To stay ahead of the counterfeiters, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing plans to redesign U.S. currency every seven years to 10 years. That is a far cry from the practice for most of the 20th century — from 1929 to the 1990s — when the currency stayed the same without any major changes. KU STUDENT SPECIAL At the Lawrence Athletic Club 2 locations with MORE equipment No more waiting! 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