Hi-Tech Unveiling Planned For New US $5 Bill

With the American dollar as the recognized measure of international currency in today's modern global economy, all eyes are expected to fall upon the unveiling of the new U.S. five dollar bill. But, unlike in previous years, The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is introducing the bill in a hi-tech way.

The Bureau is expected to partake in a digital unveiling of the redesigned currency note. The new $5 bill will be shown to the entire world via a live Internet broadcast. The unveiling has been dubbed the "Wi-5" event. The broadcast will be hosted on the Bureau's website and a number of facts and statistics of the new bill will be made available on the site. There is also expected to be a question and answer session held for officials and designers who worked extensively on the project. (Source: technology.canoe.ca)

While the design will be unveiled September 20, the bill is not expected to go into circulation until 2008.

The U.S. government had initially wanted to exempt the $5 bill from the currency design makeovers introduced in recent years on the $10, $20 and $50 bills.

Interestingly enough, officials changed their minds once counterfeiters began bleaching the ink off the current $5 bills and using it to print fake $100 bills. Most of the security features, like the location of the watermarks, were the same on both the $5 and $100 bill. (Source: canadaeast.com)

The new $5 bill will have similar design alterations as have been added to the other changed currency notes, in a continued effort to crack down on counterfeiting in the U.S. With new and more sophisticated computers being made available to the average consumer, counterfeiting currency has never been easier.

The portrait of Abraham Lincoln will remain on the front of the new bill, as will the Lincoln Memorial on the other side. However, both images are expected to be updated. (Source: technology.canoe.ca)

While the $5 bill is experiencing a drastic makeover, there are still no changes expected to be made to the $1 bill. The Bureau is still working on the updated design layout for the new $100 bill.