Government to Ship New $100 Bills Aimed at Countering Counterfeiters
Redesigned $100 bills aimed at foiling increasingly sophisticated counterfeiters will be shipped to banks nationwide March 25.
The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board said Monday that the initial shipment will be $80 billion in new bills, which feature a large, off-center portrait of Ben Franklin and security features such as color-shifting ink and a watermark.
The shipment represents a third of the estimated $240 billion in $100 notes circulating nationwide, officials said.
The new bills will gradually replace those already in circulation as banks deposit the older money with the Fed.
Fed Gov. Susan Phillips said the government will not recall or devalue the old currency.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the government will always honor all currency at full face value.
The $100 bill is the first in a series of redesigned currency, with new versions of smaller denominations rolling out in the next five years.
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