Area : SNET-L

Date : Oct 01 '95, 19:34                                                       
From : Alan Pugh                                                 114:1/0
To   : ALL                                 
Subj : new money                                                             
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

From: "Alan Pugh"  (by way of
lindat@iquest.net (Linda Thompson, American Justice Federation))
Subject: new money
Message-ID: 
Date: Sat, 30 Sep 95 20:56 EST
thought you might beinterested in the following blurb about the new
currency. there is also some interesting fed (dis)information at the
end.

Subject: - CHICAGO FED PREPS FOR NEW SERIES U.S. CURRENCY


 CHICAGO, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Messages flashed on computer
screens, cash ordering systems and accounting statements at financial
institutions throughout the Midwest today as the Federal Reserve Bank
of Chicago began to spread the word about the new series U.S.
currency, slated to be launched with the introduction of a new $100
bill in early 1996.  

Cash handlers at more than 5,000 banks, credit unions, savings and
loans and other financial institutions in Illinois, Indiana,
Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa found notices about the newly-designed
currency today as they opened mail, fax messages, and even currency
deliveries from the Chicago Fed.  

"This is the first step in our efforts to ensure that the public knows
and is able to recognize as genuine the new U.S. notes," said Chicago
Federal Reserve Bank President Michael Moskow.  "Our goals here in
the Midwest are two-fold.  First, we must communicate that there will
be no recall or devaluation of the old notes; U.S. currency always
will be honored, no matter how old.  And second, we must provide
information about authenticating the new series to the public as well
as to depository institutions, other cash handlers and law 
enforcement officials."  

The Chicago Fed is responsible for ensuring that there is enough
currency and coin to meet the public's demand for it in the
five-state Midwest district.  It s through the Chicago Fed that the
new currency, printed by the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of
Engraving and Printing, will be distributed to financial institutions
in the Midwest starting early next year.  

Each day, the Chicago Fed processes $80 million, or about 6.5 million
pieces of currency, discarding and shredding worn and defective
notes, storing notes for financial institutions, and placing into
circulation new notes.  On an average day, the Chicago Fed removes
from circulation and destroys anywhere from $15 to $20 million.
Secretary Robert Rubin announced the new series at a press conference
in Washington, D.C. today.  Chicago Fed officials hosted a briefing
for local reporters, who got their first opportunity to inspect and 
photograph the new $100 notes and the high-speed processing machines
that sort the current notes.  

The public will have a chance to view the new $100 notes and learn
about the new security features at the Visitors' Center of the
Federal Bank of Chicago, 230 S. LaSalle, Chicago, starting in
mid-October.  

The new series incorporates a number of counterfeit-deterrent features
designed to stay ahead of advances in reprographic techniques. The new
bills are the same color and size as today's bills, made of the same
paper, portray the same historical figures and carry the same "In God
We Trust" motto.  But the portraits on the bills are slightly larger
and off-center to reduce wear and to accommodate a watermark that can
only be seen when held to the light.  The watermark does not copy on
color copiers and, because it depicts the same portrait, it makes it
harder for counterfeiters to use lower denomination paper to print
higher denomination currency.  

Other security features in the new series include concentric fine-
line  patterns that current scanning equipment cannot properly
resolve for  

reproduction and color-shifting ink that changes color when viewed
from  different angles.  Improvements made to counterfeit-deterrent
features  introduced in earlier series include ore extensive use of
microprinting,  which cannot be detected by the naked eye and an
enhanced security thread that glows when held under an ultraviolet
light, making it impossible to copy on a color copier.  

Over the next months, the Chicago Fed will participate, along with the
U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve System, in a number
of nationwide educational and outreach programs to raise awareness of
the new note.  They include:  
  
    --  Seminars: "train the trainer" sessions and educational courses  
        for depository institutions will be held in more than two dozen  
        locations throughout the five-state district beginning in  
        October.  Participants will learn about the currency's new  
        design features, how to recognize counterfeits, and other  
        topics;  
    --  Cash register stickers: depicting the new series and  
        highlighting key features for currency verification will be  
        available;  
    --  Envelope-sized inserts: depicting the new currency will be  
        provided for inclusion in pay stubs, bank statements, and  
        utility bills;  
    --  Portable displays: are being provided for visitors' centers and  
        other public forums;  
    --  Public service announcements are being prepared;  
    --  Machine manufacturers: will be provided with new notes so they  
        can prepare vending machines, automatic cash tellers (ATMs) and  
        other cash-handling equipment.  While machine manufacturers  
        will have to make modifications to accommodate the new bills,  
        they will have a broader field of machine-readable features  
        from which to choose to authenticate currency;  
    --  Internet Home Page: will include a question-and-answer forum,  
        interactive information, and a table of contents of key topics  
        with easy access to more detailed information about the new  
        series;  
    --  Other public information: is being distributed via fact sheets,  
        posters andpamphlets with graphic, easy to understand  
        descriptions of the new series and its features.  
  
    Below is a list of "Chicago Fed Facts," containing additional
information on the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  
  
                           CHICAGO FED FACTS  
  
    Each day, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago receives about 275 
cash requests from more than 2,000 banks and other depository  
institutions in the Midwest.  About $100 million are received from  
them and $125 million sent out in response to their requests daily.  
    The Chicago Fed processes each day, on average, about $80  
million  -- roughly 6.5 million pieces of currency -- shredding the  
old, "unfit" bills and replacing them with new notes.  Of the 6.5  
million notes, about 10 to 20 are found to be counterfeit.  
    On average, the Chicago Fed destroys $15 - 20 million in "unfit" 
currency each day.  Currency containing physical defects such as  
holes, tape, or "dog ears" is considered "unfit" and is shredded.  
About 25 cubic yards of shreds are generated daily -- enough to fill 
a 10x11x12-foot room every other day.  
    Approximately 6,275 cubic yards of shreds are generated at the  
Chicago Fed annually -- enough to fill 28 Olympic-sized swimming  
pools or 3,873 telephone booths.  
    The Chicago Fed ordered $9.7 billion in new currency from the  
Department of Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in 1994.  
Demand continues to increase at around 2-3 percent each year.  New  
notes are sent to the Chicago Fed in packages called bricks,  
containing 2,000 notes per brick.  
    U.S. currency is printed on special paper which contains no wood 
pulp; it is a blend of ragbond, cotton and linen.  
    The average life-span of a $1 note is eight to 18 months.  
    The $100 note is the largest denomination of U.S. currency  
printed  today.  
    The motto "In God We Trust" first appeared on paper currency in  
1957.  All denominations of paper money and coin being issued bear  
this motto.  
    The Federal Reerve System was created by Congress in 1913 to  
provide a safer and more flexible banking and monetary system.  An  
important function to the Fed is to ensure that the economy has  
enough currency and coin to meet the public's demand.  Currency and  
coin are put into or retired from circulation by the Federal Reserve 
Banks, which use depository institutions as the channel of  
distribution.  
    9/27/95  
    /CONTACT:  Kathy Lydon of Federal Reserve Bank, 312-322-5108/  
 CO:  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago ST:  Illinois IN:  FIN SU: 

                   * * * END OF STORY * * * 

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