The U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve and Secret Service have announced plans to redesign the $5 note as part of ongoing security enhancements to U.S. currency. Officials said redesigning the $5 note will help update and protect U.S. currency.

“The $5 note is widely used in a variety of vending, transit farecard and self-service machines,” said Larry Felix, director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. “We have already begun working with the manufacturers of those cash-handling machines and their customers, so they have ample time to adjust their equipment to accept the redesigned $5 note when it enters circulation.”

The latest series of U.S. currency began with the introduction of the $20 note in 2003, and continued with the $50 note in 2004 and the $10 note in 2006. The redesigned $5 note is expected to be issued in early 2008 with the $100 note to follow.

The government's ongoing scrutiny of counterfeiting techniques has detected a pattern in which counterfeiters bleach the ink off of $5 notes, then print counterfeit $100 notes on the paper, deceiving the public because of similarities between the placement of the security features on the $5 and $100 notes. While these counterfeit attempts pose no significant economic problems today, officials said a redesign of the $5 note will help ensure such problems do not develop in the future.

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