The Redesigned Currency

The United States paper money currency is being changed to stay ahead of savvy counterfeiters.

No. New bills and old bills will maintain their full face value. The United States has never devalued its paper money and will not do so now.

The first denomination to be redesigned, the $20 bill, was issued in 2003. The redesign effort continued with the $50 bill issued in 2004, the issue of the $10 bill in 2006, and the $5 bill in 2008. A new $100 bill will follow. The $1 and $2 bills will not be redesigned.

Enhanced security features are being added to make U.S. paper money harder to counterfeit and easier for cash handlers and consumers to check.

On the new $5 bill, there are now two watermarks. A large number "5" watermark is located to the right of the portrait in place of the previous watermark portrait of President Lincoln. A second watermark – a column of three smaller "5"s – has been added to the new design and is located to the left of the portrait.

On the $20, $50 and $10 denominations, the color-shifting ink on the number indicating the bill's denomination in the lower-right corner on the face of the bill has been enhanced to produce a more dramatic shift in color, from copper to green, when the bill is tilted. Previously, the color shifted from green to black. The new $5 bill, however, does not include color shifting ink in the bill's new design features.

The most obvious change to the redesigned U.S. currency is the addition of color. The new $5 bill has background colors of purple and gray. Subtle background colors of orange, yellow and red were added to the new $10 bill. The $50 bill features blue and red background colors, and the $20 bill features background colors of blue, peach and green.

Denomination-specific American symbols of freedom are also featured on the face of each new bill. The new $5 bill features The Great Seal of the United States (an eagle and shield), surrounded by an arc of purple stars, to the right of the portrait of President Lincoln. The $20 bill features a large blue eagle in the background to the left of President Jackson's portrait and a smaller green metallic eagle to the lower right of the portrait. A field of blue stars appears to the left of President Ulysses S. Grant's portrait on the new $50 bill and to his right are a small metallic-blue star and an American flag waving in the background. The $10 bill features two images of the Statue of Liberty‘s torch, and also includes the words "We the People" from the U.S. Constitution printed in red to the right of the portrait.

Small yellow number "20"s are printed in the background on the back of the $20 bill and small yellow number "50"s are printed in the background on the back of the $50 bill. On the $10 and $5 bills, small yellow number"10"s and "05"s, respectively, are printed across both the front and back of the bill.

On each bill, the oval borders surrounding the portrait on the face of the bill and the vignette scene on the back have been removed from the design, with minor enhancements made to the engraving.

The new bills still have a very "American" look and feel. The size of the bills, the historical figures, and the national symbols on the back of the bills will be maintained in the new designs. The bills in this series are still printed on cotton and linen rag paper, with the traditional red and blue fibers. This unique paper has a strong, pliable and familiar feel.

Other features, including microprinting, the high-contrast numeral in lower right corner on the back of the bills, and Federal Reserve indicators and serial numbers, have also been retained because these have proven helpful to consumers — and especially cash handling industries, such as financial institutions, vending and retail businesses — in effectively verifying currency as genuine.

Changing the size or portrait figures would not improve security, but it would contribute to potential confusion for the millions of people around the world who recognize the traditional overall appearance of U.S. paper money, including the portraits that are linked to specific denominations.

Color makes it more burdensome for potential currency counterfeiters because it adds complexity to the bills, and it makes it easier to distinguish denominations.

While consumers should not use color to verify the authenticity of their money, it does have a practical advantage, particularly for individuals with low vision, because different colors make it easier to tell denominations apart.

There are two distinct security features on the $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills the public can use to check the authenticity of their bills. Hold the bill up to the light and check for:

Watermark: Each redesigned bill includes a watermark, which is a faint image within the paper itself. There are now two watermarks on the redesigned $5 bill. A large number "5" watermark is located to the right of the portrait, replacing the watermark portrait of President Lincoln found on older design $5 bill. Its location is highlighted by a blank window incorporated into the background design. A second watermark – a column of three smaller "5"s -- has been added to the new $5 bill design and is positioned to the left of the portrait. The watermarks for the $10, $20 and $50 bills are images of portraits located to the right of the larger portrait found on each denomination. On the $20 bill, the watermark is similar to the large portrait of President Jackson; on the $50 bill, there is a watermark portrait of President Grant; and on the $10 bill, there is a watermark portrait of Treasury Secretary Hamilton.

Security Thread: Each redesigned bill includes an embedded security thread in the paper, which is a plastic strip that runs vertically through each bill. If you look closely, you can see the letters "USA" followed by the number "5" printed in an alternating pattern along the thread on the new $5 bill, "USA TEN" printed on the $10 bill thread, "USA TWENTY" on the $20 bill thread, and "USA 50" on the $50 bill thread. The security thread is visible from both sides of the bill.

The higher-denomination $10, $20 and $50 bills have a third easy-to-check security feature:

Color-shifting ink: Look at the number in the lower right-hand corner on the front of the new $10, $20 and $50 bills, depicting each bill's denomination. The color-shifting ink changes from copper to green when you tilt the bill up and down.