Colorful $20 Gets a Colorful Unveiling

There were boy and girl scouts, talk about the U.S. dollar epitomizing the American dream, and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan complaining that he did not get a free sample. All said, the unveiling of the new $20 bill on Tuesday in Moscow and around the world was as colorful as the banknote itself.

The revamped bill -- which shines peach, green, blue and yellow, depending on the light -- will not go into circulation until October. But the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve on Tuesday kicked off a public education campaign that is to cover every corner of the planet and is aimed at all age groups, from schoolchildren to retirement communities.

"The U.S currency is a worldwide symbol of security and integrity. This new design will help us keep it this way, by protecting against counterfeiting and making it easier for people to confirm the authenticity of their hard-earned money," U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said at a inauguration ceremony for the bill in Washington and broadcast live to reporters at the U.S. Embassy.

The symbolic inauguration started with a video depicting Americans of all ages speaking proudly of the dollar. They called the dollar the symbol of freedom, stability and security and a key plank in the foundation of the American dream. Before Snow took the platform, a handful of scouts read an oath and paraded around with an American flag.

In Russia, the introduction of the new $20 bill is unlikely to cause big problems. According to Viktor Melnikov, a deputy chairman of the Central Bank, $20 bills account for no more than 1 percent of the dollars changing hands in Russia, while the $100 bill still remains the favorite, representing 80 percent of all U.S. banknotes in the country.

Restyled $100 notes won't be introduced until 2005, while new $50 bills are to appear next year.

Melnikov also noted that the inflow of U.S. dollars has shrunk drastically over the past few years.

"While between $33 billion and $37 billion was brought into Russia in 1996, only $14 billion arrived in the country last year," Melnikov told reporters at the U.S. Embassy.

He said the U.S. dollar is also losing in popularity to the stronger euro. Just a few years ago it made up 95 percent of all foreign currency circulating in the country. But the amount dropped to 40 percent in the first quarter of 2003, while the euro rose to 58 percent.

As U.S. officials presented the new bill Tuesday, the dollar continued a months-long drop against the ruble. The Central Bank set the exchange rate for Wednesday at 30.98 rubles to the dollar -- the first time the dollar has cost less than 31 rubles since March 2002.

On the redesigned $20 bill, the oval frame around U.S. President Andrew Jackson has been removed in favor of a peach-colored background. In the background to the left of the portrait is a large blue eagle, and in the background to the right are the words "Twenty USA, USA Twenty" in blue. The "20" in the lower right corner changes color -- from copper to green -- depending on the light.

On the back of the bill, the previously blank space around an image of the White House is covered with small, yellow "20" numerals.

The bank note does retain familiar security features, many of which were introduced when it last underwent a redesign in 1998. There is a watermark of Jackson's portrait and a security thread.

New color schemes also will be introduced for other notes: The bigger the denomination, the darker the colors.

The United States plans to redesign dollar bills every seven to 10 years, and all changes are aimed at countering counterfeiters, U.S. officials said.

"The soundness of a nation's currency is essential to the soundness of its economy," Greenspan said at the Washington ceremony. "And to uphold our currency's soundness, it must be recognized and honored as legal tender, and counterfeiting must be effectively thwarted."

He also jokingly complained that he had not been allowed to have a free sample of the new note.

That new $20 note was fearured in out newspaper today.

About my only gripe is that the poitrait of Jackson makes him look hydrocephalic - a condition where cerebrospinal fluid does not circulate properly from the brain down the spinal collumn, and accumulates inside the skull.

The increased pressure on the brain can lead to mental retardation, paralysis, and death.
They now treat it with "shunts" so that it is not so much of a problem as it used to be.

It was also known in the venacular as "Water on the brain" and caused the cerebrum to expand, sometimes to grotesque proportions.

Unless Pres. Jackson had hydrocephalis, that picture of him is badly out of proportion - and not terribly flattering. Compare his likeness with that on an "old" $20 and you'll see what I mean.

I'm glad to see the color. I don't know how many times I have handed a clerk the wrong denomination bill - or had one do it to me. A lot of other Countries use color coding to distingush between denominations, and it comes in handy. Their money is also a lot prettier than ours is.

Another thing I'd like to see is "tactile" distinctions for the visually disabled, or for that matter, making change in the dark. When's the last time you had to do that?

Aaahhh...

Never mind...

Were I in charge of the Mint (like; dream on, duuuude!) I would make each higher denom. 2MM longer than the lower bill. And emboss them with braille in one corner.

A $1 bill would be essentially square. Some of our earliest paper currency used to look like that. Takes up less room in the wallet, you know. A $10,000 bill might be so long that you'd have to fold it in half to get it into your wallet. Real "Folding Money!" Nothing I'd have to worry about.
It could have a long "endorsement" section where a holder could initial or mark it if they wanted to, like some people like to do to money anyway - I guess to see if it ever comes back around to them. That might also help to distinguish big bills in the event of theft, I suppose, and they might collect greater value with the autographs of the rich & famous on them!

With unequal bill lengths, if the wrong bill got into a stack, (at least in the case of a larger bill) it would be obvious by having an edge sticking out.

I could arrange the dough in my wallet in acending or decending denominations (I try to do that anyway), and the edges should all "slope" evenly; if one is out of order, it's stick out, or leave a gap. I could pretty much tell how big a bill I was forking out just by running a thumb along the inside edge of my "wad" and pinching the appropriately extending edge.

They could even vary the weight (thickness) of the paper slightly for additional tactile discrimination. With a little practice, most people can detect a paper weight variation of a couple of thousandths of an inch. Blind folks who usually develop very acute tactile senses could distinguish more easily, I would suppose, so that the variation could be very subtle.

I'm a little surprised that a government which is so compulsively anal about "equal access" for the "Handicapped" in all of American institutions and society will not accept their own standards on our National Currency that they impose with the force of Law on the rest of us.

But then again... I'm not, really.

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