Page 11 - Print
P. 11
Expanded Information
The Look of Money
The $5 bill incorporates security features that are easy to use and harder for counterfeiters to fake. The redesigned $5 bill entered circulation on March 13, 2008.
Security Features
The redesigned $5 bill retains important security features that were first introduced in the 1990s and are easy to check.
Watermarks
There are two watermarks on the redesigned $5 bill. A large
numeral 5 watermark is located to the right of the portrait, replacing the
previous portrait watermark of President Abraham Lincoln found on older design $5 bills. Its location is highlighted by a blank window incorporated into the background design. A second watermark — a column of three smaller 5s — has been added to the $5 bill design and is positioned to the left of the portrait. Hold your bill to light and look for these two watermarks.
Security Thread
The embedded security thread, which is located to the left of the portrait on older-design $5 bills, has moved to the right of the portrait on the redesigned $5 bill. Hold your bill to light and look for the embedded security thread. The letters USA followed by the numeral 5 in an alternating pattern are visible along the thread. The security thread glows blue when illuminated by ultraviolet light.
Additional Design and Security Features
Color
The most noticeable difference in the redesigned $5 bill is the addition of light purple in the center of the bill, which blends into gray near the edges. Small yellow 05s are printed to the left of the portrait on the front of the bill and to the right of the Lincoln
Memorial vignette on the back. Because color can be duplicated by potential counterfeiters, it should not be used to verify the authenticity of the bill.
There are many other security changes.
See them all at: http://www.newmoney.gov/currency/5.htm
11