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Editor's Note: Since publication of this document, the U.S. government issued a redesigned $10 note in March 2006 and has modified its plans for future denominations. Please visit the Currency Redesign Timeline page for more information.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 7, 2005	CONTACTS:
	Dawn Haley or Claudia Dickens, 202/874-3019 Bureau of Engraving and Printing
	Rose Pianalto or Jeffrey Smith, 202/452-2955 Federal Reserve Board
	Office of Public Affairs, 202/406-5708 U.S. Secret Service
	Sarah Lora, 214/224-8404 New Color of Money Media Support

Washington, D.C. - (November 7, 2005) - The U.S. government is conducting a series of training seminars in Latin America for financial institutions, law enforcement and other organizations that handle U.S. currency on a regular basis. The seminars will provide information about redesigned U.S. currency, including the design and security features of the new U.S. $10 note, and its efforts to stay ahead of counterfeiters.

Given that over two-thirds of U.S. currency circulates outside the United States, the U.S. government regularly conducts training seminars to educate stakeholders in international markets about new currency designs. The new $10 note, which was unveiled on September 28, is the latest in a new series of U.S. currency designs. The new series began with the introduction of the $20 note on October 9, 2003, and continued with the $50 note, issued on September 28, 2004. The $100 will be the next denomination to be redesigned after the $10 note.

The seminars taking place in Latin America will occur in the following countries:

• Mexico on November 7
• El Salvador on November 8
• Panama on November 9
• Colombia on November 10
• Ecuador on November 11

The new notes are safer, smarter and more secure: safer because they’re harder to fake and easier to check; smarter to stay ahead of tech-savvy counterfeiters; and more secure to protect the integrity of U.S. currency. The new currency, with improved security features, makes counterfeiting more difficult and makes it easier for financial institutions, professional cashhandlers and the general public to check their U.S. currency.

"The U.S. government plans to redesign its currency every seven to 10 years," said Robert De Zayas, vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. "By implementing regular redesigns, we can update the security features found in U.S. currency, and this will help us stay ahead of technologies that would-be counterfeiters could use to make fake notes."

The new $10 note, like the $20 and $50 notes introduced in 2003 and 2004, respectively, incorporates state-of-the-art security features to combat counterfeiting, including three that are easy to use by cash handlers and consumers alike:

• Color-shifting ink: Tilt your ten to check that the numeral "10" in the lower right-hand corner on the face of the note changes color from copper to green. The color shift is now more dramatic on the redesigned notes, making it even easier for people to discreetly check their money.
• Watermark: Hold the note up to the light to see if a faint image of U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton appears to the right of his large portrait. It should be visible from both sides of the note. On the redesigned $10 note, it is easier than ever to locate the watermark " a blank oval has been incorporated into the design to highlight the watermark’s location.
• Security thread: Hold the note up to the light and make sure there’s a small strip that repeats "USA TEN" in tiny print. It should run vertically to the right of the portrait.

While consumers should not use color to check the authenticity of their currency, color does add complexity to the note, making counterfeiting more difficult. Different colors are being used for different denominations, which will help everyone " particularly those who are visually impaired " to tell denominations apart.

The government estimates that fewer than 1 in 10,000 $10 notes is a counterfeit. Yet, an increasing proportion of counterfeit notes are digitally produced. Since 1995, digitally produced counterfeit notes have increased from less than 1 percent of all counterfeits detected in the United States to about 54 percent in 2004.

Counterfeiting has been kept at low levels through a combination of improvements in security features, aggressive law enforcement and education efforts to inform the public about how to check their currency.

In the past decade, digital equipment has become more available to the general public, and thus the amount of digitally produced counterfeits has risen. To stay ahead of counterfeiters as advances in technology make digital counterfeiting of currency easier and cheaper, the government expects to redesign the currency about every seven to ten years. At this time, the government has no plans to redesign the $5 note. The $1 and $2 notes will not be redesigned.

For more information on the global public education effort please visit, www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney.