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NOVA News Minutes
The New Color of Money
(running time 01:45)
Transcript
September 19, 2003
NARRATOR: New, peach-tinted $20 bills that also feature splashes of blue and yellow will start circulating on October 9th. But don't be deceived by their soft pastels. They might prove to be the toughest blow yet to would-be counterfeiters. But what is your chance of getting handed a phony bill?
RICH STEIN (Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Division, U.S. Secret Service): Our current money supply—genuine currency in circulation—is roughly $660 billion. Out of that, the chances of getting a counterfeit note are .02 percent, or one in ten thousand. So it's not an economic impact, the crime of counterfeiting. What it is, actually, is a continuing criminal concern.
NARRATOR: As shown on PBS's NOVA, the printed numbers are also intentionally hard to copy. They change color as the bill is tilted, thanks to a so-called "optically variable ink," which is made by grinding special foil into a fine powder and using that as a pigment. In the new bill, the number 20 shifts from copper to green.
Other security features, including this watermark, and security thread, were introduced a few years ago and help us make sure a given bill is legitimate. There are also a number of hidden features that only the Treasury, Federal Reserve and Secret Service know about. Officials concede, however, that stopping counterfeiting altogether is an ongoing challenge.
RICH STEIN (Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Division, U.S. Secret Service): There is no such thing as a counterfeit-proof note. It would be great if we could do that, but it's just not feasible. And while color by itself is not a security feature, it does add a certain complexity to the note, which makes it that much more difficult for a counterfeiter to counterfeit.
NARRATOR: That's why new designs for the $50 and $100 bills are scheduled for 2004 and 2005. Stein won't say what color those bills will be, but he promises that even with the new color of money, you'll still recognize your good old American greenbacks. I'm Brad Kloza.
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