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Apr 22, 2010
New US $100 note



US Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (L), Chairman of the Ferderal Reserve Ben Bernanke (2nd L) and Deputy Director of the US Secret Service Kieth Prewitt (3rd L) watch as US Treasurer Rosie Rios (R) unveils the new US$100 note at the US Treasury Department in Washington, DC. -- PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON - A NEWLY designed US$100 note aims to thwart counterfeiters with advanced security features, top US Treasury and Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday. The 'new Benjamins' to be released in Feb 2011 retain the traditional look of the US currency, with Benjamin Franklin's portrait. They aim to foil counterfeiters with difficult and costly to reproduce features such as a blue three-dimensional security ribbon with alternating images of bells and the number 100 that move and change as the viewing angle is tilted.

The new notes, which cost slightly more to produce, also feature a bell image inside a picture of an inkwell that changes from copper to green when tilted, as well as a large '100' that does the same. 'As with previous US currency redesigns, this note incorporates the best technology available to ensure we're staying ahead of counterfeiters,' US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at a Treasury Department unveiling ceremony. 'Welcome to the new Benjamins.'

The US$100 note is the most often counterfeited denomination of US currency outside the United States due to its broad circulation overseas. It is the highest-denominated note issued by the Federal Reserve. The approximately 6.5 billion older design US$100s already in circulation will remain legal tender after the new notes are released next year. -- REUTERS