Has anyone seen one of these today?



http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/13/new.bill/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Quote :

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday began circulating a redesigned $5 bill. The first transaction was at a gift shop near President Lincoln's summer cottage overlooking Washington. The $5 note has Abraham Lincoln's image on the front as usual, plus security features to discourage counterfeiting. The recently renovated cottage was selected as the backdrop for the unveiling of the new bill because Lincoln's image remains on the front. Perhaps the quickest way to spot the new bill is the large, purple numeral "5" on the back of the note's lower right. Security features added to the paper help people to spot bogus bills. "Just hold the bill up to light," said Michael Lambert, an assistant director at the Federal Reserve, noting two new watermarks in the paper in the morning sun outside Lincoln's cottage. To demonstrate the watermarks, Lambert pointed to "the large numeral 5 in the blank space of the bill to the right of the portrait of Abraham Lincoln." The sunlight also revealed "the large column of three smaller fives to the left of the portrait," Lambert said. The bill continues to use the larger, off-center portrait featured on all denominations of U.S. currency since 1996. Anti-counterfeiting measures are the main reason the United States has been making changes in currency. It started in 1996 with the $100 bill, followed by a new $20 bill in 2003. The $50 bill got an overhaul in 2004, and the $10 was redesigned in 2006."

[Edited on March 13, 2008 at 6:49 PM. Reason : hyperlink]

3/13/2008 6:48:49 PM

That new fiver makes me wanna drop acid and spend money!

3/13/2008 6:51:03 PM

Glad to see the gays have their very own currency now. Gonna have to change the joke too.

"You're as queer as a $5 bill"

3/13/2008 6:52:59 PM

^ Im using that. Thanks!

3/13/2008 6:53:50 PM

Does this really discourage counterfeiting? I understand that these are harder to make, but anytime somebody gives me an old 20 or 10 I'm just like "damn, I forgot that this is what they looked like" and I accept it. Now there's just more to have to accept.. right? I guess if they gave me a $100 or something I might be suspect, but...pretty much any bill that they've re-done could still be in circulation

3/13/2008 6:58:27 PM

^You'd think that the ever decreasing value of $5 is deterrent enough.

I wonder how much they wasted on the new design?

3/13/2008 7:08:12 PM

doesn't matter how much they spent designing it

all that matters is that you can print it for less than it's worth

which you most assuredly can do with all paper money

3/13/2008 7:26:52 PM

If they are going to change the paper money they need to do it with some STYLE...


Abe would be rocking a goatee and maybe a buzz cut.

George could have a mohawk and a soul patch

Ben could have some shades on and an earring..

3/13/2008 7:47:47 PM

^i like this idea

3/13/2008 9:02:04 PM

Americans have been calling all money that isn't green "Monopoly Money" and shitting on other currencies for years

now you guys have an weak dollar and purple money

KARMA

3/13/2008 9:37:01 PM

who is "you guys" and what kind of money do you use?

[Edited on March 13, 2008 at 10:36 PM. Reason : you know what, fuck CANADA...although i might live there one day]

3/13/2008 10:35:39 PM

people act like the dollar has never been down this road before, just because it has dropped to all time lows against the euro doesnt mean shit, the euro hasnt been around htat long

3/14/2008 12:28:45 AM

they need to start working on making a dollar bill which isn't worth a shit load less than the euro

3/14/2008 1:18:35 AM

Quote :

"Hometown : Calgary, Alberta"

3/14/2008 7:25:55 AM

I just hope they don't redesign the 1 anytime soon...I like having money that looks like money in my wallet.

3/14/2008 9:54:23 AM

i thought part of the problem was the fact that:

1.) all of our money is the same size - a $1 is exactly the same as a $100, which leads to
2.) the ability for counterfeiters to "clear" a low-denomination bill and reprint with a higher denomination (using the same special paper, since they're the same size, too)

*shrug*

though i have to say, i've got some paper money from (chile?) that has a clear plastic design in it (a hole where the paper ends, and there's see-through plastic there instead)...that's kind of cool IMO

3/14/2008 10:06:54 AM

Quote :

"1.) all of our money is the same size - a $1 is exactly the same as a $100, which leads to"

Being able to use normal-sized wallets. I guess they could make the 100 the current bill size and make the others smaller, but I don't want big-ass paper currency like I've seen from other countries.

[Edited on March 14, 2008 at 10:36 AM. Reason : because, you know, what I want should determine US currency policy. ]

3/14/2008 10:32:31 AM

How about not making a new 5 and just get rid of the penny

3/14/2008 10:43:44 AM

Who in the hell still carries cash?

3/14/2008 10:46:12 AM

my bookie doesnt take credit card

3/14/2008 10:49:06 AM

the same bookie who doesnt take any juice

and gives you a handjob every time you win a bet

3/14/2008 10:57:58 AM

ahahahaha

3/14/2008 11:01:45 AM

Quote :

"Who in the hell still carries cash?"

/thread

3/14/2008 12:07:14 PM

Quote :

"Who in the hell still carries cash?"

depends if i care if there is a paper trail or not

3/14/2008 12:14:32 PM

whatever. i pay for all my weed and crack and hookers with plastic. i need the points, b

3/14/2008 12:25:26 PM

Quote :

"Who in the hell still carries cash?"

Shit...I do.

The debit card is used for when I don't have enough cash (which is rare, because I try to wait until I've got cash to buy shit), and put gas in my car.

3/14/2008 12:26:15 PM

spending cash is easier for some to keep track of cause they didn't ever have to learn to balance a checkbook

3/14/2008 12:40:36 PM

Quote :

"spending cash is easier for some to keep track of cause they didn't ever have to learn to balance a checkbook can't stop spending"

3/14/2008 12:50:08 PM

haha you nerds who live and die by your credit/check cards wouldn't last a day in a big city

3/14/2008 12:56:41 PM

the big purple 5 looks stupid

who's with me??

3/14/2008 1:11:29 PM

Quote :

"which you most assuredly can do with all paper money"

the germans in 1923/24 would beg to differ with you...

the HUGE purple 5 is a bit much....

3/14/2008 2:31:47 PM

Quote :

"Our money sure is gay."

3/14/2008 2:46:23 PM

So who decided that the US Treasury department needed a "new, hipper" look? Seems like the last 10 years the USTD guys hired too many ADD personnel.

3/16/2008 9:50:09 PM

Quote :

"haha you nerds who live and die by your credit/check cards wouldn't last a day in a big city"

the fuck are you talking about? you can swipe a check card on anything

3/16/2008 9:52:19 PM

I've had difficulties using cards in NYC

3/16/2008 9:53:03 PM

Quote :

"You're as queer as a $5 bill"

Haha. That's along the lines of the Sgt. Hartman classic, "You're so ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece!"

3/16/2008 11:08:40 PM

I meant it more as a play on the joke "You're as queer as a $3 bill"

But yeah, I get what you're saying.

3/16/2008 11:32:13 PM

Yeah, I got it. Your new variation just made me think of Full Metal Jacket.

3/17/2008 12:06:45 AM

Did you guys see those debit card commercials? Where everyone is all happy and paying with their cards then somebody pays with cash and everything stops? That commercial tells me that it is both faster and more convenient to use a card!


(Even though it is still a faster/easier transaction just to use cash)

3/17/2008 9:17:14 AM

depends... at a place like wendy's where you don't have to sign anything, credit is faster..

3/17/2008 9:30:55 AM

Quote :

"(Even though it is still a faster/easier transaction just to use cash)"

i disagree.

3/17/2008 9:35:22 AM

I really like those stores that have the new credit card machines that accept the signal from the credit cards that have microchips in them.

My AmEx has it, and all I do is tap the card to the sensor, and that's it. No swipe, no signature, no nothing. It takes less than 2 seconds.

3/17/2008 9:37:07 AM

i try to use cash at local establishments that i don't want to close, because they don't have to pay a fee for a cash transaction.

3/17/2008 10:26:18 AM

Some barbaric establishments still refuse to take cards.

3/17/2008 10:28:42 AM

^Bojangles on Western didn't take cards up until last year.

3/17/2008 10:32:23 AM

Quote :

"i try to use cash at local establishments that i don't want to close, because they don't have to pay a fee for a cash transaction."

3/17/2008 10:35:25 AM

those transaction fees are only charged to the establishment if you use a credit card...debit cards fees, however, are paid by the bank, not the establishment

3/17/2008 11:01:08 AM

Why can't that do away with the penny. Seems like a virtual waste of money and resources by the gov't to mass produce a nearly worthless coin. All purchases paid for in cash can just have the tax rounded to the nearest 5 cents.

The rounding is already done in many places as a 6.75% sales tax is rounded to 7 cents on a $1 purchase here in raleigh

3/17/2008 11:19:45 AM

Quote :

"^Bojangles on Western didn't take cards up until last year."

more like 3 to 4 years back.

3/17/2008 11:27:52 AM

^at least 2-3

3/17/2008 11:39:12 AM