TENDER MOMENT; TREASURY LAUNCHES NEW FIFTY.Byline: John D. McClain Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The new $50 bill, the Treasury's latest effort to prevent counterfeiting, also includes a large number ``50'' on the back to help people with poor eyesight. Thursday's unveiling came 16 months after introduction of a new $100 note and will be followed by redesigned $20 bills next year. Other currency denominations - the $10, $5 and $1 bills - will be revamped later. The new currency will replace the $50 bill design in use since 1929 when it is issued this fall. For most people, the most visible difference is an enlarged, off-center portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant on the front of the note and the large ``50'' on the bottom right-hand corner of the back. The engraving of the Capitol on the back also has been enlarged to include more detail and reflect a contemporary view of the building's west front. The bill is packed with high-tech features designed to thwart counterfeiters from effectively using advanced technologies including color copiers, scanners and printers to produce near-duplicates. ``With this redesign, government demonstrates its ability to stay ahead of the technology curve,'' Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said in an unveiling ceremony at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Noun 1. Bureau of Engraving and Printing - the agency of the Treasury Department that produces currency Department of the Treasury, Treasury Department, United States Treasury, Treasury - the federal department that collects revenue and administers federal . The Secret Service says it identified counterfeited versions of the remade re·made v. Past tense and past participle of remake. $100 bills only one-eighteenth as often as it did with the old series. The new notes represent a third of the $100 bills in circulation. Like the introduction of the redesigned $100 notes, the new $50s will replace the older series gradually, older bills being replaced as they reach the Federal Reserve from depository institutions. About $46.5 billion in $50 bills is in circulation. Both Rubin and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan Alan Greenspan Dr. Greenspan is Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Dr. Greenspan also serves as Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed's principal monetary policymaking body. emphasized that the older bills remain legal tender. They said existing notes will not be recalled or devalued de·val·ue also de·val·u·ate v. de·val·ued also de·valu·at·ed, de·val·u·ing also de·val·u·at·ing, de·val·ues also de·val·u·ates v.tr. 1. To lessen or cancel the value of. . The Treasury Department said that when the smaller bills are redesigned, they too will bear a large denomination identification number, as will future redesigns of the $100 note. It said more than 3.7 million Americans have visual disabilities and as many as 10 million have milder forms of visual impairment Visual Impairment Definition Total blindness is the inability to tell light from dark, or the total inability to see. Visual impairment or low vision is a severe reduction in vision that cannot be corrected with standard glasses or contact lenses and . ``The bigger, bolder numerals will be helpful to millions of young Americans born with impaired vision and adults who lose vision in later life - as well as all those people who don't always wear their glasses,'' said Patricia M. Beattie, first vice president of the Council of Citizens With Low Vision International. High-tech anti-counterfeiting features include: A watermark watermark: see paper. See digital watermark. to the right of Grant's portrait, visible only when the bill is held up to light. A security thread to the right of the portrait that glows yellow when exposed to ultraviolet light Ultraviolet light A portion of the light spectrum not visible to the eye. Two bands of the UV spectrum, UVA and UVB, are used to treat psoriasis and other skin diseases. . ``USA FIFTY'' and a flag, which contains microprinting Microprinting is one of many anti-counterfeiting techniques used most often on currency and bank checks, as well as various other items of value. Microprinting involves printing very small text, usually too small to read with the naked eye, onto the note or item. , are printed on the thread. Color-shifting ink in the numeral numeral, symbol denoting anumber. The symbol is a member of a family of marks, such as letters, figures, or words, which alone or in a group represent the members of a numeration system. on the lower right-hand corner of the bill front that changes from green to black when viewed from different angles. Microprinting in the border and in Grant's shirt collar. Concentric fine-line printing in the background of the portrait and on the back of the note. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow holds a new $50 bill. Associated Press (2) A nifty $50 |
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