FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Redesigned note includeslow-visionfeature

The Federal Reserve began issuing today, Monday, October 27, redesigned Series 1996 $50 notes. The new notes, which will be widelyavailable in banks and other depository institutions around the world in the coming daysand weeks, incorporate new features to protect against counterfeiting and make U.S.currency more easily identifiable to people with low vision.

The Series 1996 $50 note follows theintroduction in March 1996 of the redesigned $100 note and is part of an ongoing programto maintain the security of the nation’s currency. The redesigned $20 note will beintroduced next year. The new series notes contain important features that providesignificant security against counterfeiting, particularly the threat posed by reprographictechnologies such as scanners and color copiers.

"Since its introduction, the new $100bill has been extremely effective against counterfeiting and we expect the same from thisnew $50," said Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin. "We have seen in the firstyear of circulation alone significantly less counterfeiting of the new note compared tothe older series. We are absolutely committed to ensuring our currency continues to berespected throughout the world as a store of value and means of exchange -- the symbol ofsecurity it has been for so long."

Beginning with today's initial shipments tolocal depository institutions from the Federal Reserve System's 37 offices and branches,Fed banks will fulfill all future orders only with the new notes. New notes will replacethe older series notes as they are returned to the Federal Reserve. Currency is shipped toforeign countries through commercial banks with Federal Reserve accounts.

"We are most gratified with thesuccessful introduction of the new $100 note and look forward to the same success with the$50," Federal Reserve Board Chairman Greenspan said. "Our currency is trustedand accepted by people throughout the world. Because of this special status, theprotection of our currency from counterfeiting has long been a priority."

Chairman Greenspan and Secretary Rubinstressed that there will be no recall or devaluation of older series notes.

The redesigned $50 note and subsequentdenominations also will include a large dark numeral on a light background on the back ofthe note that will make it easier for the more than 3.7 million Americans with low visionto denominate the note. The feature will also be useful to the 10 million Americans withmilder forms of visual impairment and other users of U.S. currency in low-lightsituations. In a January 1995 study solicited by the Treasury Department’s Bureau ofEngraving and Printing, the National Academy of Sciences recommended incorporation of thefeature.

"The large numeral on the back of thebill will not only help those with low vision to identify a note, it will help everyonewho needs to pay for something in low light, such as in a dimly lit bus or taxi cab,"Secretary Rubin said.

In order to make room for the new features,the overall architecture of the note has been changed somewhat and the borders simplified.Microprinting and security threads, which first appeared in the 1991 series currency, havebeen effective deterrents and will appear in the new notes. The new and modified $50 notefeatures include:

• A large numeral"50" on the back of the note.

• A larger portrait, movedoff-center to create more space for a watermark.

• The watermark to the right of the portrait depicting the same historical figure as the portrait. The watermark can be seen only when held up to the light.

• A security thread to the right ofthe portrait that glows yellow when exposed to ultraviolet light in a dark environment. "USA 50" and a flag, which itself contains microprinting, are printed on the thread. (In the $100, the thread is to the left of the portrait, glows red, and is printed with the words "USA 100.")

• Color-shifting ink in the numeralon the lower right-hand corner of the bill front that changes from green to black when viewed from different angles.

• Microprinting in the border and in Ulysses Grant’s shirt collar in the $50 note. (In the $100 note, microprinting is found in the numeral in the note's lower left-hand corner and on Benjamin Franklin's lapel.)

• Concentric fine-line printing inthe background of the portrait and on the back of the note. This type of printing is difficult to copy well.

• Other features for machine authentication and processing of the currency.

In addition to the low-vision feature on thenote back, the $50 looks different in several other ways. The engraving of the Capitol hasbeen enlarged to include more detail, and reflects an accurate contemporary view of thewest front of the Capitol. The security thread images and characters are also printed intwo different heights.

Over $400 billion in U.S. currency is incirculation, two-thirds of it overseas. The U.S. Information Agency and U.S. consularposts around the world will help educate foreign users of U.S. currency about the redesignprogram.

Fact sheets on the new note, the history ofU.S. currency and related agencies are available on Treasury's interactive fax at (202)622-2040 (for an index, request document # 1745) and on the Treasury’s website:WWW.treas.GOV.