“Hundred Dollar Bill, Real”
The next time you are out “turning up” with Jay-Z, busting some rhymes about your fresh new $100 bills, take a second to look a little closer; those bills might be more high-tech than you think.
After numerous trials of perfecting the new design of the $100 bill, it was finally released on Oct. 8, 2013. It features new and intricate designs that will help to prevent fraud and make it easier for the public to identify.
One of the new and cutting edge features is the blue 3D strip that runs down the front and center of the bill. This strip shows bells that change into the number “100” as it is tilted back and forth. The bill showcases a new type of ink that also when tilted changes colors. The large, vertically printed “100” on the back of the bill uses this ink as well as the 3D strip in the center and the inkwell/Liberty Bell picture on the front of the bill. A watermark of Benjamin Franklin can be seen from both sides of the bill as opposed to one side. Also, good-old Mr. Franklin is sporting a jacket that you can feel due to it’s raised printing.
The new bills are built to withstand the tests of time. Whether they be given to you in a crisp envelope on Christmas morning, taken out of your hard-earned savings account, or given to you personally by Jay-Z, these bills are built to last up to 15 years. This is a substantially long time compared to the $1 bill that has a life span of nearly six years, the $10 bill that lasts approximately four years, and the $20 bill that circulates just under eight years.
Currently, there are 3.5 billion of the new bills dispersed among the Federal Reserve Banks across America. On average it costs 12.5 cents to produce a $100 bill as compared to the $5, $20, and $50 dollar bills that take only 9.8 cents to produce. This 2.7 cent increase is caused by the increase in security measures found on that $100 bill that have yet to reach the smaller bills.
So what are the chances of someone trying to make a fake $100 bill? Less than 1 percent, according to Yahoo Finance. The $100 is the most counterfeited bill because the amount of time and money put into making the fake bill allows for the most profit.