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Secrets of Making Money
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
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Organize students into large groups, and give each group a newly
designed $20 bill. Have students observe and list the
characteristics of the redesigned U.S. currency. (See
Some U.S. Currency Features
for a list of some characteristics.) To see two of the new
security features, have students hold a bill up to the light and
look for a security thread embedded in the paper (running
through the left side of the bill) and a watermark in the right
side of the bill. To see another feature, give them a hand lens
or jeweler's loupe to locate the microprinting around the
portrait on the front of the bill. As they watch, have students
look for features of U.S. and foreign currency that are intended
to be difficult to counterfeit.
After Watching
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Changes to U.S. bills were made to enhance security, not to
alter the notes aesthetically. Many countries, however, have
highly decorative currency. Bring in or have students bring in
currency from other countries to compare with the U.S. bills.
Ask students what they think each design element symbolizes.
What role do they think aesthetics should play in the design of
a country's currency?
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