Are you ready for some new money? The new $100 bill will begin circulating on Tuesday and you may notice that it has a very unique design. The new design will help with security and make it harder to create counterfeit bills. The new bill design was first released in 2010, which is also the year it should have started circulating. Several problems occurred during the printing process and the design could not be released as planned. The most recent new $100 bill design began circulation in 1996.

So what makes this new design so special? Well, for starters it has two new security features that will make it harder to copy and easier to authenticate. If you examine the bill closely, you will see a 3-D security ribbon with pictures of bells and 100’s. You may also notice that some of the colors are different as well. The colors green and gold fade in and out as you move the bill. It also features raised writing and a rough texture. You will also notice that Benjamin Franklin is no longer encircled.

2.5 billion new $100 notes will be printed and the old ones will be taken back to the Federal Reserve where they will be shredded. The cost to produce just one of the new bills is 7.8 cents, making them cheaper to make than other bills which typically cost 9.8 cents per note to make. The old design will still be used and many banks will continue to hand these old bills out. When banks order new $100 bills from the federal reserve, they will start using them. Over time, the new bills will replace the old ones.

So what do you think about the new bill design? Did the $100 bill really need a new design or was it fine the way it is? Will the new design really make it harder for counterfeiters to create fake $100 bills? Do you like this design better than the old design from 1996?

Image from i4u.com.