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Consumer Reports


New $20 bills making crime pay a bit less

http://www.jewishworldreview.com | (KRT) In a nation obsessed with makeovers, it was only a matter of time - nearly two centuries - before the Treasury Department took on Andrew Jackson.

The nation's seventh president keeps his tousled hair and cape on the new $20 bill set to debut in October. His transfixed gaze, however, is softened by subtle peach, green and blue hues - the first background colors other than black or green used on money since 1905.

The change isn't for aesthetics; it is to help deter counterfeiters, explained Thomas A. Ferguson, director of the Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing, who visited Fort Worth's Western Currency Facility to show off the redesigned money last week.

"We firmly believe that all our current notes are beautiful," Ferguson said. "But anything we can print billions of, someone can print hundreds of."

The government is racing to stay ahead of counterfeiters who have access to today's fast and inexpensive digital printers and scanners. In 2002, digitally produced bills accounted for nearly 40 percent of all counterfeits, compared with less than 1 percent in 1995. An estimated $44.3 million worth of counterfeit notes were in circulation in 2002. Out of 10,000 genuine notes, one to 2 are fake, officials said.

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"The old traditional methods required a high degree of skill," said Jean Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Secret Service, established in 1865 to suppress fake money. "We see that diminishing, and criminals are using their basic home computer systems."

Adding color is just one way to fight the scourge of imitation cash. When counterfeiters attempt to scan a new bill, they will trigger unspecified electronic warnings. Officials for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing wouldn't elaborate.

The other methods are more obvious. The new $20 bill retains some features added in 1996, such as an embedded security thread and faint watermark visible when held to light.

But now, President Jackson's portrait is larger, free from the oval that's surrounded him for decades. A large, classic eagle sits to his left and a smaller and more modern metallic bird is to his right.

The bills employ more microprinting - smaller words that are hard to replicate clearly. Finally, the color-shifting ink now changes from copper to green, instead of green to black.

A government ink supplier, SICPA Securink Corp., wouldn't divulge the fancy ink's price or how it is made. It costs "multiple" times more than the regular ink, said James E. Bonhivert, president and CEO of the company based in Springfield, Va.

Nor would anyone discuss the cotton-and-linen paper, made by Crane & Co. in Massachusetts.

"We're not allowed to talk about some of the stuff that we do," said Douglas A. Crane, manager of currency papers manufacturing, as he toured the Western Currency Facility, which prints 54 percent of the nation's currency.

The 12-year-old operation still resembles an old-fashioned printing press with paper run through giant rollers. A strong ink smell permeates the air.

"Presses are presses. It's not the press itself, it's what we print on the press," Ferguson said. "It's how we use it."

The 600,000-square-foot Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth employs 700 and produces 18 million notes a day, with an average face value of $169 million.

Because counterfeiters will quickly copy the new look, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing will update money every seven to 10 years.

The $20 note came first because it is the most commonly counterfeited in the United States. New $50 and $100 will be introduced in 2004 and 2005. (Each will use different colors.) Redesign of the $5 and $10 is not definite. The $1 will not be redone because it is rarely counterfeited and reconfiguring vending machines would be expensive, Ferguson said.

As the new bills debut, don't expect drastic differences. Each will be subtle and build on previous security measures.

"Look at this as more evolutionary than revolutionary," Ferguson explained. "It's adding additional layers."

This change is overdue, said Mark Van Winkle, chief cataloger with Heritage Numismatic Auctions in Dallas.

"Have you ever looked at the back of a 10- or 20-dollar bill?" he asked, joking. "You've got Model Ts."

On the other hand, Van Winkle wasn't sure about the color.

"Peach? That throws me."

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