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Treasury Goes High-Tech With Redesigned $100 Bills
Hugh Pickens writes "AP reports that as part of an effort to stay ahead of counterfeiters, the Department of the Treasury has designed a high-tech makeover of the $100 bill with a disappearing Liberty Bell in an inkwell and a bright blue security ribbon composed of thousands of tiny lenses that magnify objects in mysterious ways. The new blue security ribbon will give a 3-D effect to the micro-images that the thousands of lenses will be magnifying. Tilt the note back and forth and you will see tiny bells on the ribbon change to 100s as they move. Tilt the note side to side and the images will move up and down."
Eh, doesn't really matter since nobody carries hundreds. They're large enough that most places won't take them anyways. I think it's mostly tourists and people that don't actually use cash on a regular basis that carry them around.
pffft. put out a press release when you join the 20th century...
http://www.questacon.edu.au/indepth/clever/plastic_banknotes.html
Wait! Whats a sig?
The idea behind making it hard to reproduce federal reserve notes is to keep counterfeiters from robbing us by expanding the money supply, but the Fed does exactly that on a scale that no independent counterfeiter could even imagine.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Where can I get free samples of this new product?
Presumably to amplify the smoke and mirrors used by the Fed to make it appear the bills are actually worth anything.
The Free Competition in Currency Act and Federal Reserve Transparency Act are good places to start. Talk to your congressman today and ask them to sober up.
Peter
Downsize DC Today!
Funny how the process of counterfeiting -- injecting paper money into the economy with nothing of actual value to back it up -- is exactly the same as what government does to cause inflation. The result? The criminal (er, government) holds more money, at the expense of everybody else whose dollars are now worth less.
Of course, when you're at the top of the pyramid, your actions are sacred rather than criminal.
Are they also Green? (Or will I be inhaling toxic combustion products when I use them to light up my Cuban cigars?)
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
...that mimics the virtue it symbolises.
The security feature is that they cost more to make than their face value.
There's really no excuse for this. The bills should have different color and size to help the visually impaired. There's no good reason not to. Sure, don't change the $1 due to bill readers. I suppose there are $5/$10/$20 readers, though usually at the post office (and hence easy to change from the government's perspective). But really -- why not mix up the $50 and $100 so that they're easier for those with disabilities to use. It'd at least be a step in the right direction.
Support a few technologists in Washington.
Eh, doesn't really matter since nobody carries hundreds.
What? I have paid with an 500 euros ($667) on an movie theater. They sure took it, but the teens besides us looked at us with a weird smile.
Just because you don't carry doesn't mean nobody does.
Quarters don't, but the profit margin is still fairly slim. Only nickels and pennies actually cost more to make than they are worth.
$_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
Probably not. In quantities large enough to be worth the risk of Hard Federal Time(tm) coins are heavy and bulky. Plus, fabricating metal objects on any substantial scale is generally more of a pain in the ass, and is rather more visible, than printing paper.
My(admittedly layman's) understanding, is that hundreds, to the degree they are counterfeited at all, are mostly the domain of Real Serious Actors(North Korea always seems to be on the list of suspects). Most domestic and/or fairly small-time operators are banging out twenties or smaller; because those are much easier to disseminate without attracting suspicion(counterfeit currency is worse than useless if you can't find a good way to spend it, or sell it to someobody who can, since merely producing or knowingly possessing is illegal; but it is only valuable if spent). Even if they are 100% authentic, most places will give you a seriously suspicious look if you show up with a brick of hundreds. No bored retail drone is even going to bother with a second glance if you pay your tab in a busy, dimly-lit bar with a reasonably plausible twenty or two.
Eh, doesn't really matter since nobody carries hundreds.
Move out of your parent's basement and get a job.
My drug dealer takes them. He won't take change, though.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I always thought counterfeiting was the only crime that made any sense. Nobody gets hurt, there's no violence involved. You just make it and spend it.
That's probably why the G takes it so seriously. When they catch counterfeiters, they put them under the prison.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Anyone know if they've released an update patch yet? I wish they would've warned me before my $100 went obsolete.
(My school subsidizes the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, which was last weekend, otherwise no I wouldn't have a $100 on me).
My webcomic
UK resident here. I personally love it when new technology is introduced into banknotes, but those plastic ones the Australians have had for ages are just plain cool.
The Indonesian plastic Rp100,000 note is also pretty damned cool.
Wish we had 'em.
I'll make me some money the old fashion way.
Ways to spot the bills printed by AC in his Mom's basement:
1. One Hundred Dollars reads One Hunnert Dollars
B. The United States of America reads The Untied State of America
Third. The phrase "Haulin' Ass and Gettin' Paid" does not actually appear on legitimate US currency.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
You're joking right? While not pocket change, it's also not a terribly large amount of money either. I guess it depends on location, but in my neck of the woods it's not uncommon at all. I have never come across a place that refused a hundred dollar bill (or fifties).
"This calls for a very special blend of psychology and extreme violence" - Vyvyan "The Young Ones"
So you do not have to have your own credit card swiping machine and an account with a processor to sell something on craigslist.
Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
No bored retail drone is even going to bother with a second glance if you pay your tab in a busy, dimly-lit bar with a reasonably plausible twenty or two.
A quick Google search would have shown you that it is in fact rather common for bored retail drones to panic over two dollar bills. :-p
"Good news, everyone!"
All older bills are valid until they wear out. In other words; this is a pointless exercise unless they set an expiry date for older bills.
Most US $100 notes are circulated outside of the US. I don't know the percentage, but it's very high. Aside from legal users, there is a lot of people with large caches of $100 notes that our government doesn't like.
In non-US countries the the phrase "legal tender for all debts public and private" carries no weight. They can be picky about what notes they accept. Every time that new US notes are issued, people with large hoards of US cash find that their old notes are no longer accepted and they have to scramble to get new notes. They get noticed.
Damn slashdot swallowed my cent characters. Hey slashdot, it's 2010, can't we join the 21st century and allow ISO8859-1 characters?
A dollar today has the buying power of 6 cents in 1940. But don't take my word for it, here's one of many inflation calculators http://www.coinnews.net/tools/cpi-inflation-calculator/ [coinnews.net]
Can you imagine your grandparents carrying a wallet stuffed with 5 cent notes? Or a pocket full of .06 coins?
Time to get rid of them. Time to stop wasting 100s of millions of dollars every year printing and minting them.
Long term it'll save lost of money.
Yeah, that's what happens to all my coinage too.
That weird smile was more likely a knowing "guess who's gettin' mugged later" look.
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
They get the paper by bleaching $1s.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
Maybe you don't carry hundreds... But I do as well as most people I know.
I don't have any problem spending them. In fact I have yet to find a place that will not accept a hundred as payment. Unless I'm being a prick and buying a pack of gum and paying with it.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Move out of your parent's basement and get a job.
I have more than one parent, you insensitive clod!
Trivia question: can you guess which bill is carried the most?
Wrong, it's actually the $100 bill. Because everyone likes to look like a pimp/hi-roller/badass.
Report to Econ 101 please.
The damage from counterfeiting is inflation. Therefore, counterfeiting is a crime whose damage is divided among all individuals who are holding cash, or who are holding dollar-denominated assets at a fixed interest rate.
That the damage to each victim is very small is a secondary issue that perhaps could be considered at sentencing time.
FATMOUSE + YOU = FATMOUSE
Until they get to know you.
I am a creature of routine. Except for the exceptions, of course, I tend to go to the same places and deal with the same people. The Chinese buffet at which I eat lunch expects me to pay my $8.40 tab with a $100 bill. The Walmart where I drop in to pay my Discover credit card expects me to pull out a $2K, bank-sleeved pile of hundreds, plus a few more that I fish out of my pocket.
Big exception: the dancers at the strip club. I love dropping $2 bills on the stage. They pick 'em up and look at 'em funny, sometimes for a long time.
I always carry $2 bills. I call 'em my "stripper-confusers".
Note: In my experience, Starbucks clerks will be nearly as perplexed nearly as often.
I was talking to an attorney who was trying to explain to me that "dopers" love hot tubs. And said he could get me a good deal on a hot tub or a tanning bed. Anyway, he was representing the guy on an intent to sell charge for marijuana. He said, "I charged him $2500 and he paid me in cash with 20 dollar bills. You think he was guilty?"
It's usually places like parking garages and gas stations that don't want to take them. But fifties seem to be more commonly accepted these days. Even the automated pay stations at the BWI parking garage will take fifties.
I actually find the $100 denomination to be too small. If you deal in cash, carrying around a relatively small amount of money, just a few thousand, is prohibitive. Try stuffing $3000 in your wallet.
Nah, you take 5s and 10s, bleach them, then print 20s on the bleached bills. In the US the way that most places check currency is to mark it with a "magic" pen. If the mark is black it is a good bill. And since the "magic" pen just detects the fact it is genuine money, not the denomination, you can pass 20s all day at convenience stores and grocery stores.Hell, you can pass them in banks if yo mix them with real 20s in a smallish stack (too small for machine counting) They feel just like the rest and look like them unless closely inspected.
The damage from counterfeiting is inflation. Therefore, counterfeiting is a crime whose damage is divided among all individuals who are holding cash, or who are holding dollar-denominated assets at a fixed interest rate.
That the damage to each victim is very small is a secondary issue that perhaps could be considered at sentencing time.
Which is why HR1206 and S604 are essential beginnings to end the reign of the largest counterfeiter and thief of American wealth, The Federal Reserve.
Being a spelling & grammar Nazi is a sign you do not poses the intelligence to contribute to the conversation
|| So, are you saying that Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke should be arrested? ||
He might not be saying so directly. However, Henry and Ben being arrested would be a good start, I think.
Nobody gets hurt, there's no violence involved.
Counterfeiting reduces the trust people have in the money.
Counterfeiting? I thought it was government.
There's no place like
The damage from counterfeiting is inflation.
Inflation—more generally, any increase in the supply of any good leading to its devaluation—is not damage. Everyone has a right to their dollars, but, as with any good, no one has a right to receive any specific price for those dollars in the marketplace.
The problem is that people, with the strong encouragement of governments, insist on treating as a stable store of value objects which have essentially no direct use valued in proportional to the price paid for them, not even as raw material, and which thus only command a nonzero price due to the artificial scarcity granted them via enforcement of anti-counterfeiting laws and restraint on the part of the Treasury (as limited as that may be...).
"The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
A one-hundred dollar 'note' that promises to give you another one-hundred dollar 'note' in exchange is no note. It is a self-referential monstrosity. The wording "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE" that appears on it is an insider joke at the expense of the schmucks who accept them.
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
OTOH plenty of English shops simply don't accept Scottish notes, on the basis that most employees couldn't tell the difference between a real one and a piece of paper with "£6.73" scrawled on it in yellow crayon.
If you are going to claim that a government agency is defrauding you,
The "Federal" Reserve is NOT a government agency: it's a public-private partnership. The Senate confirms the board of govenors. Member banks own the Federal Reserve's stock, and earn 6% per year return. It wasn't until the 1960's that excess profits were turned over to the Department of the Treasury.
Nothing good comes from letting private banks create the money supply.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
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