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$5 bill will get new colors, redesign
A tinge of the royal color will be added to Abraham Lincoln's portrait on the $5, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced Thursday.
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A tinge of the royal color will be added to Abraham Lincoln's portrait on the $5 bill, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced Thursday.
Splashes of purple and gray along with several security features to deter counterfeiting will be added to a redesigned $5 bill which will be released into circulation next year.
The addition of color to the bill will be the most noticeable enhancement, but the redesigned bill will have two watermarks; one will be a large number 5 to the right of Civil War president's portrait and a series of three small 5's to the left.
The redesigned bill will remain the same size, but a large easy-to-read 5 in purple ink will be positioned on the back side of the bill to help the visually impaired distinguish it from other denominations, the department said.
Another new feature is that American symbols of freedom, the eagle and shield, have been added to the background of the new bill.
Other security measures have also been added.
The $5 is the latest series in a redesign of U.S. currency which began with the introduction of the $20 note in 2003, and continued with the $50 note in 2004 and the $10 note in 2006. The redesigned $5 note is expected to be issued in early 2008 with the $100 note to follow.
The redesign of the $5 was necessary because the government's ongoing scrutiny of counterfeiting techniques has detected a pattern in which counterfeiters bleach the ink off of $5 notes, then print counterfeit $100 notes on the paper, deceiving the public because of similarities between the placement of the security features on the $5 and $100 notes, the department said.
Tim Harlow • harlow@startribune.com
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