New US $20 bills Released, Colors & Layout Change

JayBonci writes "CNN is running a story with the newest advances in the original copy-protection arms race, a new US $20 dollar bill. From the article, specifically color and different number arrangements as an improvement over 1996's "Big Face" dollar bills." Little off the norm for Slashdot, but it's interesting since computers have vastly simplified forgery.

Comments

Obviously a hoax

[GigsVT]

This is obviously a hoax.

"Dennis Forgue" is the anti-counterfeiting expert they interviewed?

Treasury has given these companies material they can use to update bill- acceptance devices, but nothing they can spend or use to make counterfeit bills.

This gives it away. Everyone knows that the Treasury department gives vending machine companies the master engravings.

If this were a real article, why didn't they interview the real experts

And what is up with the ugly guy holding a stick?

Re:Are they brazilian looking?

[DNS-and-BIND]

The 2-dollar bill has been around forever. Typical of uneducated Canadians to think only their country has ever had the $2. Ask yourself, when you go traveling, do you bring Canadian money with you? You'd have a problem exchanging it at many banks I've seen overseas.

Seriously, if you can't tell the bills apart, you've got a big problem. It's a truism that the hardness and value of a currency is inversely proportional to its prettiness. U.S. currency has a long history of stodgy appearance. Japanese currency is ugly as sin. On the other hand, there is no shortage of good-looking but worthless notes printed by a variety of nations, Canada among them. I'll be the first to admit, Canada's currency really makes a fashion statement when it enters the room. Malaysian currency is pretty too, and I found its 2 ringgit bill to be a most useful denomination, for tips, soft drinks, and other minor uses.

Re:Hmmm

[Ancil]

why would a forger bother with trying to forge one of the newer looking bills? The old $20's are still accepted everywhere

Take an old $20 or $100 bill anywhere in Russia and try to spend it. Good luck. In parts of the world where forgery is rampant, the "new" bills are all people will accept. I imagine this will be true of the new monopoly money, as well.

this is just another example of our tax dollars being wasted in a futile attempt to stop a crime which, I believe, is not very rampant. This money could be better spent keeping the govenment out of debt and keeping inflation down

Oh Lord, here we go. Contrary to what Rush Limbaugh might be telling you, redesigning the currency is not causing the record $300 billion dollar Bush Deficit. You can chalk that up to a lack of fiscal discipline on the part of Republicans.

And counterfeiting isn't rampant here in the States. In some parts of the world 20 and 30 percent of US bills are counterfeit. The government would rather sell real US currency than have someone sell knockoffs. Much of the best counterfeit currency is printed in places like Libya and Iran, where US law enforcement is non-existant. Supposedly, North Korea is getting into the business as well.