Peach. PEACH. Next it'll be fuchsia or mauve or distressed orange or some other 'designer' color ... Monopoly money, I'm telling you, that's where this shit is all headed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The revamped $20 bill, along with its faint tinge of peach color in the background, will make its way into bank vaults and consumers' pockets in early October, according to the Federal Reserve (news - web sites) and the Treasury Department (news - web sites).
The new $20, whose design was unveiled in May, is to be made available to banks on Oct. 9, Marsha Reidhill, assistant director for cash and fiscal agency for the Fed, said in an interview.
The introduction into circulation of the new bill, a makeover of a bill previously redesigned in 1998, is meant to thwart increasingly high-tech counterfeiters. And even though it was not meant to be a security measure, the most prominent new feature of the bills, the addition of subtle peach, green and blue background colors, is expected to make counterfeiting harder.
"This is the most secure note the U.S. government has ever produced," Fed governor Mark Olson said in a statement. Obviously Mr. Olson never heard of SecureBuxx!
The Fed expects to have about 915 million of the individual notes ready for distribution by the end of September.
"We have been building our inventory for the last four months," Reidhill said.
Officials said consumers could see the notes as soon as the weekend following Oct. 9 or possibly even on the rollout day itself if their bank is close to a Fed bank distributing them and quickly stocks their teller windows or ATMs with the bills. Remote areas and overseas locations may see them a bit later.
The changeover will be accompanied by a public education campaign to acquaint consumers with the currency and to reassure them that the old notes will remain valid tender. With two-thirds of U.S. currency circulating outside U.S. borders, more than 200 media events are also planned globally, Reidhill said.
The average lifespan of a $20 bill is about two years. That means it may take some time for the new bills to become commonplace, officials said.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The revamped $20 bill, along with its faint tinge of peach color in the background, will make its way into bank vaults and consumers' pockets in early October, according to the Federal Reserve (news - web sites) and the Treasury Department (news - web sites).
The new $20, whose design was unveiled in May, is to be made available to banks on Oct. 9, Marsha Reidhill, assistant director for cash and fiscal agency for the Fed, said in an interview.
The introduction into circulation of the new bill, a makeover of a bill previously redesigned in 1998, is meant to thwart increasingly high-tech counterfeiters. And even though it was not meant to be a security measure, the most prominent new feature of the bills, the addition of subtle peach, green and blue background colors, is expected to make counterfeiting harder.
"This is the most secure note the U.S. government has ever produced," Fed governor Mark Olson said in a statement. Obviously Mr. Olson never heard of SecureBuxx!
The Fed expects to have about 915 million of the individual notes ready for distribution by the end of September.
"We have been building our inventory for the last four months," Reidhill said.
Officials said consumers could see the notes as soon as the weekend following Oct. 9 or possibly even on the rollout day itself if their bank is close to a Fed bank distributing them and quickly stocks their teller windows or ATMs with the bills. Remote areas and overseas locations may see them a bit later.
The changeover will be accompanied by a public education campaign to acquaint consumers with the currency and to reassure them that the old notes will remain valid tender. With two-thirds of U.S. currency circulating outside U.S. borders, more than 200 media events are also planned globally, Reidhill said.
The average lifespan of a $20 bill is about two years. That means it may take some time for the new bills to become commonplace, officials said.
