Benjamin Franklin’s face-lift is to debut Tuesday.

Redesigned $100 bills are set to begin circulating this week after a printing delay pushed back the date by more than two years.

The note bearing Franklin’s likeness has new security features intended to make the bill more difficult to counterfeit.

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Among the most obvious changes is a three-dimensional security ribbon that runs through the currency with imprints of small bells and the figure “100.”

When the bill is tilted, the bells embossed in the ribbon change back and forth to “100s.”

Another security feature not found on previous versions of the currency is an inkwell and bell located to the right of Franklin’s face. When tilted, the copper-colored inkwell and bell turn green, making them disappear and reappear.

The Federal Reserve Board said in 2010 that a printing delay caused the circulation date of the new $100 bill to be pushed back.


The Bureau of Engraving and Printing reported that sporadic creasing of the paper during printing needed to be fixed before the new notes would be distributed to banks. The bills were originally scheduled to circulate in February 2011.

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ricardo.lopez@latimes.com