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Media Center
$20 Press Kit
About The New Color of Money: Safer. Smarter. More Secure.
The New Color of Money is safer, smarter and more secure. New money designs are being issued as part of an ongoing effort to stay ahead of counterfeiting, and to protect the economy and the hard-earned money of U.S. currency users.
The first note of the new currency designs, the $20 note, was issued October 9, 2003. The series continued with the $50 note, which was issued on September 28, 2004. The next denomination to be introduced in the series will be the $10 note in early 2006. The $100 note is also slated to be redesigned, but a timetable for its introduction is not yet set. The government has no plans to redesign the $5 note at this time, and the $1 and $2 notes will not be redesigned.
Continuous improvement in currency design and aggressive law enforcement protect the integrity of U.S. currency.
The combined efforts of public education, law enforcement, and effective changes in currency design have kept counterfeiting at a low level.
The new currency designs will help stay ahead of counterfeiters, who are turning increasingly to digital methods, as advances in technology make digital counterfeiting easier and cheaper.
In 1995, less than 1 percent of counterfeit notes detected in the U.S. was digitally produced. By 2002, that number had grown to nearly 40 percent.
Some things will be the same:
Same value: Both new and older-design notes will maintain their full face value.
American look and feel: The world will recognize the new money as quintessentially American. The new bills will remain the same size and will use the same, but enhanced, portraits and historical images.
Easy-to-use security features: Consumers can help protect their hard-earned money by checking their cash. First incorporated in the 1990s, these features make U.S. money easy to check:
- Watermark: a faint image, similar to the portrait, which is part of the paper itself and is visible from both sides when held up to the light.
- Security thread: also visible from both sides when held up to the light, this vertical strip of plastic is embedded in the paper and identifies the denomination in tiny print.
- Color-shifting ink: the numeral in the lower-right corner on the face of the note, indicating its denomination, changes color when the note is tilted. For the new currency, this color shift is more dramatic. It changes from copper to green, making it even easier for people to check their money.
The most noticeable difference is color.
The new $20 note features subtle background colors of green, peach and blue on both sides.
Different colors will be used for different denominations. This will help everyone – particularly those who are visually impaired – to tell denominations apart.
Consumers should not use color to check the authenticity of their money. However, color makes it more burdensome for potential currency counterfeiters because it adds complexity to the note and thus makes counterfeiting more difficult.
Each denomination will feature different symbols of freedom. The $20 note features a large blue eagle in the background and a small, metallic green eagle and shield.
From Wall Street to Fleet Street, from St. Petersburg, Florida, to St. Petersburg, Russia, a far-reaching public awareness and education program is underway to ensure the seamless introduction of The New Color of Money.
- Security features are more effective if the public knows about them.
- To build that awareness, the U.S. government has undertaken a public education program to help ensure people all over the world know the new $50 note has been issued and to help them understand and utilize the security features. Outreach is targeted to audiences that use and handle the $50 note the most, including cash handlers in the financial and retail sectors in general, and in the gaming industry in specific.
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