With the fanfare of a hard cough, the Federal Reserve released the new $100 Federal Reserve Note on Tuesday, October 8, 2013 to financial institutions. Various factors will effect how quickly these notes are seen in circulation including the demand and ordering policy of the financial institutions. In fact, the launch was introduced with a video by Sonja Danburg, Program Manager of the U.S. Currency Education Program at the Federal Reserve.
This launch is three years in the making as Bureau of Engraving and Printingreported problems with folding during the printing of the new notes. The announcement on April 21, 2010 said that the new notes would be released on February 10, 2011. On October 1, 2010, the Federal Reserve announced that the new note would be delayed. Later, the folding problems were revealed following a report released by the Treasury Office of the Inspector General.
The reason for the new notes are for the addition of security features. Aside from the ecurity thread, portrait watermark, color-shifting ink, microprinting, and the strategic use of color, the new note has a 3-D security ribbon and the use of color-shifting ink used to reveal a bell in the inkwell. If you look at the blue ribbon on the front of the note, tilt the note and watch the bells on the ribbon change to “100s” as the reflection of light changes. The 3-D ribbon is embedded in the paper and not printed. Looking at the copper-colored inkwell on the front of the note, tilting the note will reveal a bell that was embedded using color-shifting ink. Using these light sensitive features, the Federal Reserve hopes to significantly reduce the number of counterfeit notes, especially overseas where half of the $100 notes are known to circulate.
The Federal Reserve released a video about the new anti-counterfeiting features:
As an aside, the Bank of England recently announced that they will be transitioning to polymer banknotes by 2015.
Come on, Baby don’t you wanna go
Hidehey, baby don’t you wanna go
Back to that same old place
Sweet home Chicago
Few things make me happier than music. I have been listening and playing music since I was young and learned to play the clarinet in elementary school. This was before I learned about collecting coins. As I get ready to fly to Chicago for this year’s World’s Fair of Money I keep hearing the Blues Brothers singing “Sweet Home Chicago!”
I don’t care what the critics say, the Blue Brothers is one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies!
While you have image of Jake and Elwood Blues dancing on the stage at the Palace Hotel with the Chicago Police and the Good Ol’ Boys looking for justice and revenge, I am on my way to the Windy City to join other American Numismatic Association members in this year’s convention.
Over the next few days, I will be tweeting from the convention center. You can either follow @coinsblog on Twitter or use the widget on the right side of this page. I will also be adding pictures to Pinterest on the board I set up for this show. I will also try to provide a daily update here.
In the mean time, did you know that Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the designer of the last $20 gold double eagle and $10 eagle coins made for circulation also created statues that are in Chicago?
Abraham Lincoln Monument by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Lincoln Park, Chicago (Credit: Public Art in Chicago)
General John Logan Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Grant Park, Chicago (Credit: Public Art in Chicago)
A short time ago, the American Numismatic Association announced who will serve the association on the 2013-2015 Board of Governors. Current ANA President Tom Hallenbeck announced the following:
President: Walt Ostromecki (unopposed) Vice-President: Jeff Garrett (unopposed) Governors:
Gary Adkins (3,220 votes)
Scott T. Rottinghaus (2,859)
Dr. Ralph W. Ross (2,797)
Mike Ellis (2,782)
Greg Lyon (2,723)
Jeff Swindling (2,591)
Laura Sperber (2,569)
The rest of the votes were as follows:
Tom Mulvaney (2,389)
William D. Hyder (2,095)
Oded Paz (1,916) Scott Barman (1,891)
Steve D’Ippolito (1,862)
Jeff Wuller (1,786)
Richard Jozefiak (1,543)
To everyone that supported my candidacy I want to give you a heartfelt THANK YOU. While I did not win this election, I will continue to work for the ANA to bring it technologically into the 21st century.
Congratulations to the 2013-2015 ANA Board of Governors.
This year, the U.S. MintFacility at West Point, New York turn 75 years old. When opened in 1937, it was to be the nation’s silver bullion depository giving it the nickname “The Fort Knox of Silver.” In 1988, West Point was granted mint status.
The “W” mintmark on U.S. coins is highly prized since it is the only mint not to strike circulating coins with its own mintmark. While the West Point Mint did strike cents from 1973 through 1986, the coins produced were not struck with a mintmark.
Today, the West Point Mint only strikes precious metal coins. From commemoratives through bullion American Eagle coins, West Point produces more precious metal coins than any other Mint in the world, including the San Francisco Mint.
Located just outside the United States Military Academy, the West Point Mint does not allow visitors or tours for security reasons. However, exceptions are made. With the facility celebrating its 75th anniversary, the U.S. Mint has been allowing journalists to visit and take pictures of their operations.
The Daily News also created a two-minute video looking inside the facility. The video follows (if it begins with a commercial, it is being sent by the Daily News—the cost of embedding their video):
If you are having problems seeing the video, go here.
All images and the video courtesy of the Daily News.
The redesign of the $100 note was announced with a press release that was to be held on April 21, 2010 at the Department of the TreasuryCash Room with all of the usual suspects: then Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Ben Bernanke, Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios, and the since retired Director of the United States Secret Service Mark Sullivan.
The date of the announcement, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Federal Reserve announced that Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Ben S. Bernanke said, “When the new design $100 note is issued on February 10, 2011, the approximately 6.5 billion older design $100s already in circulation will remain legal tender.”
Throughout the summer of 2010, the BEP and Federal Reserve released a lot of training and education materials in anticipation of the release of the new notes.
Everything seemed to be going well until October 1, 2010 when the Federal Reserve “announced a delay in the issue date of the redesigned $100 note.” The Federal Reserve and BEP said that there was a problem with creasing of the paper during the printing process. That was the last we heard from the Federal Reserve until today’s announcement.
Magnified images of the creasing showing up on the new $100 notes.
We consider the delayed introduction of the NexGen $100 note to be a production failure that potentially could have been avoided and has already resulted in increased costs. We found that BEP did not (1) perform necessary and required testing to resolve technical problems before starting full production of the NexGen $100 note, (2) implement comprehensive project management for the NexGen $100 note program, and (3) adequately complete a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis for the disposition of the approximately 1.4 billion finished NexGen $100 notes already printed but not accepted by FRB. [Federal Reserve Board]
After the report noted that the BEP basic responded by saying that they were sorry and are looking into it, the OIG caved and said that even though the BEP was bad, the corrective actions “are responsive to our recommendations.”
Then nothing. No follow up by the OIG or the Government Accountability Office. In fact, we have not heard from the GAO since their 2005 report suggesting whether a second supplier of currency paper is needed (see GAO-05-368).
Of course it is easy for the BEP to say that Crane & Co., the Dalton, Massachusetts company that has been the exclusive currency paper supplier since 1879, because it would be easy to justify. Some of the arguments against finding a second supplier includes the cost of entering the market and the established relationship with Crane who the BEP allows to “own” the innovations paid with taxpayer money. There was also the case of having two of the most powerful senators, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, there to protect Crane. Neither are the senators from Massachusetts today.
While the BEP has been struggling with rag-bond paper, countries have been moving to using polymer “paper.”. The polymer “paper” was developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia to enhance the durability of the notes and to incorporate security features not possible with paper or rag-based paper. RBA has been distributing polymer notes since 1992. While the polymer substrate costs little more and the production is only marginally more expensive, the benefit will come from the reduction in counterfeiting and the durability of the note. Polymer will last three-to-six times longer than rag-based paper.
The Bank of Canada has reissued its C$100, C$50, and C$20 notes using the polymer paper and will issue the new C$5 and C$10 notes later this year.
Switching to polymer notes, especially for higher denominations, would be a better decision. It will reduce counterfeiting and reduce the costs over the lifetime of the note. And there is no law that would prevent the Federal Reserve from using the polymer paper.
Considering the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s previous performance with the $100 notes, this should not be consider the time to celebrate. Especially since a pre-solicitation notice asking for information about purchasing a Single Note Inspection System is still open at FedBizOpps.gov and the BEP has not issued a request for proposal (RFP) to purchase such a system. Let’s wait for the BEP to deliver the notes to the Federal Reserve for distribution before considering this a success.
While waiting, enjoy this video announcement narrated by Federal Reserve Deputy Associate Director Michael Lambert about the new release date.
Images courtesy of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Video courtesy of the Federal Reserve.
As with many announcements, there was little news other that what was published in the past. The U.S. Mint did bring out a plaster model of a curved coin to show the media what it could potentially look like.
The following video shows the plaster model of the coin and the introduction by Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios:
This is the animation that the U.S. Mint published showing the shape of the coin:
But the real news of the day is the comedy routine by Brooks Robinson. Robinson takes his sense of humor to a deprecating sense of self. It is worth watching!
Remember, this week’s poll asks if you are going to participate in this contest. Are you?
Will you try to submit a design for the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative?
No, I am not artistic enough. (54%, 7 Votes)
No, it's a dumb idea. (38%, 5 Votes)
Yes I am! (8%, 1 Votes)
I would like to, but I do not have the time. (0%, 0 Votes)
Maybe, I am thinking about it. (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 13
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Videos from the launch ceremony courtesy of Gannett by Brian Tumulty. Animation video courtesy of the U.S. Mint.
Did you ever have one of those weeks where something as mundane as a viral YouTube video catches your attention for longer than it should have? If not, then spend a few moments or waste a little Saturday time to watch this video. Don’t watch the whole video because it’s over an hour long. But it is hypnotic and caught my interest for 10 minutes.
As we come down to the home stretch of the 2012 products, let me put in a word for the 2012 Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coins. Proceeds from the sale of these coins ($35 for the gold coin and $10 for the silver dollar) goes to the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission to support their bicentennial activities, educational outreach, and preservation and improvement of the sites and structures related to the War of 1812, a war that has been called our second war for independence.
The design of the 2012 Star-Spangled Banner commemorative coins enhance the depiction of liberty and the fight for freedom that should be the hallmark of U.S. coin designs. The gold coin features a naval battle scene representing the victory in Baltimore Harbor over the Royal Navy in defending Fort McHenry and the reverse has the first words of Francis Scott Key’s poem, “The Defence of Fort McHenry.”
While the gold coin is a nice design, the design of the silver coin is even better. The obverse depicts Lady Liberty waving the 15-star, 15-stripe Star-Spangled Banner flag with Fort McHenry in the background. It is a powerful image representing one of the best designs representing freedom and liberty. The reverse is a modern 50-star flag waving. Images (included below) does not do this coin justice. You have to see this coin in hand to appreciate the design.
The last day to purchase the Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coin will be on Monday, December 17, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
It is always fascinating to see how the U.S. Mint works behind the scenes and hear from the designers and engravers. Philadelphia’s WPVI-TV went to the Philadelphia Mint to see how the 2012 Star-Spangled Banner commemorative coins are made. Here is their report:
In related news, it was announced that the Navy’s heralded Blue Angels will perform in Baltimore for the finale of the War of 1812 commemoration September 12-13, 2014. The Blue Angles will appear during the Star-Spangled Spectacular that will be held September 6-14, 2014 in Baltimore.
Buying the coins will not only add a beautiful coin to your collection but will help support the celebrations of the bicentennial of these important events in United States history. I bought the silver proof coin at Fort McHenry during the launch event.
The Coins:
2012 Star-Spangled Banner Gold Commemorative Obverse depicts a naval battle scene from the War of 1812, with an American sailing ship in the foreground and a damaged and fleeing British ship in the background. Designed by Donna Weaver and engraved by Joseph Menna.
2012 Star-Spangled Banner Gold Commemorative Reverse Depicts the first words of the Star-Spangled Banner anthem, O say can you see, in Francis Scott Key’s handwriting against a backdrop of 15 stars and 15 stripes, representing the Star-Spangled Banner flag. Designed by Richard Masters and engraved by Joseph Menna.
2012 Star-Spangled Banner Silver Commemorative Obverse depicts Lady Liberty waving the 15-star, 15-stripe Star-Spangled Banner flag with Fort McHenry in the background. Designed by Joel Iskowitz and engraved by Phebe Hemphill.
2012 Star-Spangled Banner Silver Commemorative Reverse depicts a waving modern American flag. Designed by William C. Burgard III and engraved by Don Everhart.
Scott’s coin:
Credits
Logo courtesy of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission.
Video courtesy of WPVI-TV, Philadelphia.
Coin images courtesy of the U.S. Mint.
Image of Scott’s coin is owned by the author and covered under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license.
On February 25, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the National Bank Act of 1863 that created a single currency standard for the United States where the notes would be backed by the United States Treasury and printed by the federal government. The result of this act lead to the establishment of the National Currency Bureau which was later rename to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
It is homecoming weekend at my undergraduate alma mater. For the first time in many years, I am off to join other alumni to relive some good times from our youth in front of more than 92,000 of our closest friends. I’m sure we will find time to watch some football.
In the mean time, let me leave you with this video for a little weekend fun. Magician Rick Lax performs a trick to penetrate a clear drinking glass with a coin.
Rick Lax sent the link to me in hopes I would give him some free publicity. Since it is a cool trick and it only costs $19.95 to learn how to do it, I thought I would give him a shout out for the trick. Click here to learn more about the trick.
If you want to really have some fun, you can watch my personal Twitter stream. I might take some pictures before the game, from the field during pre-game, and provide other commentary during the game!
With the fanfare of a hard cough, the Federal Reserve released the new $100 Federal Reserve Note on Tuesday, October 8, 2013 to financial institutions. Various factors will effect how quickly these notes are seen in circulation including the demand and ordering policy of the financial institutions. In fact, the launch was introduced with a video by Sonja Danburg, Program Manager of the U.S. Currency Education Program at the Federal Reserve.
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If you want to really have some fun, you can watch my 
