U.S. to issue `greenback' with more colors

U.S. to issue `greenback' with more colors

JAKARTA: As part of an ongoing effort to combat counterfeiting
for its currency, U.S. government recently unveiled a new US$20
note design with enhanced security features and subtle background
colors.

The new bills -- to be issued this fall -- bear easily
recognisable new colors subtle green, peach and blue featured in
the background.

The new bills will remain the same size and use the same, but
enhanced portraits and historical images of Andrew Jackson on the
face and the White House on the back of the note.

The new $20 design retains three important security features
that were first introduced in the late 1990s. The watermark,
security thread and color-shifting ink are easy for consumers and
merchants alike to check.

"This is the new color of money; it is safer because it is
harder to fake and easier to check, smarter to stay ahead of
tech-savvy counterfeiters, and more secure than ever," said Tom
Ferguson, director of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and
Printing.

Advances in technology has made counterfeiting of currency
easier and cheaper. In 1995, for example, less than 1 percent of
counterfeit notes detected in the U.S. was digitally produced. By
2002, the figure had grown to nearly 40 percent, according to a
report from the U.S. Secret Service.

U.S. government also planned to issue $50 and $100 notes in
2004 and 2005 respectively. Redesign of the $5 and $10 is under
consideration, but so far there is no plan to revamp the $1 and
$2 notes.

Older-design notes will remain legal tender, even after the
new money is issued. -- JP