The newly designed $100 bill began circulation Tuesday. The note’s high-tech design is the Federal Reserve’s way of staying a step ahead of the counterfeiters, said Detective Matt Goeckel, Gainesville Police currency expert and task force liaison with the U.S. Secret Service.
The note’s new security features include a blue, 3-D ribbon across the front that appears to reflect moving 100s and an inkwell that changes from copper to green when tilted.
“You look at Canadian currencies, and it’s very colorful and harder to reproduce,” Goeckel said. “Ours is almost monotone.”
If someone suspects a counterfeit bill, the first thing they should do is call the police, said GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias.
“It gives us a chance to find out where the bill came from and if it’s part of a larger ring,” he said.
As far as the new bill dropping in the midst of the government shutdown, Goeckel said he was surprised.
The Federal Reserve was scheduled to release the bill in 2010 but didn’t because of production problems.
Although the bills were released to financial institutions Tuesday, it may be a while before they hit the streets.
The Wells Fargo branch in the Reitz Union hasn’t yet received a shipment of the new bills, but it’s expecting one soon, said store manager Scott Weaber.
A version of this story ran on page 9 on 10/9/2013 under the headline "New colorful $100 bill debuts nationally"
