New $100 Bills on the horizon

Okay, so I missed this big announcement from the US Treasury, Federal Reserve & Secret Service last April.  Not that I have these in my wallet all that often either!  But, in the interest of full awareness & safe money handling, here’s the info:

• beginning February 2011, new $100 bills will hit circulation
• the old design will still be considered ‘legal tender’
• there are a number of new security features built into the new design
• the “$100 is the highest value denomination” issued
• and is also the “most often counterfeited denomination outside the U.S.”

So, how do you ensure you & your staff are accepting only legal $100 bills? Check out the following resources from the Dept of the Treasury at newmoney.gov:

1. Interactive Note: mouse over this note to see the ‘hidden’ bell in the ink pot, the 3-D security ribbon woven through the bill, and more
2. Additional Security Features: scroll down the page to view, in detail, 12 more security features on the new bill, some of which were retained from the older version
3. Download educational & training materials, including a free booklet & poster

And hey, if you’d like to throw one of these new bills my way when they come out next February, go right ahead!