United States Currency

0:00 as a regular handler of cash you can avoid accepting counterfeit notes by

0:05 becoming familiar with the security features in currency all you need to do

0:10 is feel the paper, tilt the note, and check with light

0:14 let's take a look at some easy to use security features in the $20 note you'll

0:19 also find these features on other current style denominations feel the

0:24 paper, move your finger across the note it should feel slightly rough to the

0:28 touch as a result of the printing process and the unique composition of the

0:32 paper. Tilt the note, denominations $10 and higher have color shifting ink in the

0:37 numeral on the lower right corner of the note. On the current style of notes, the color

0:42 should change from copper to green. The current style $100 note also includes

0:48 two new security features that you can check by tilting the note; the color

0:52 shifting bell in the inkwell and the 3d security ribbon. The 3d security ribbon

0:57 contains images of the bells and 100s that shift as you tilt the note. Check

1:02 with light. Hold the note to light to check the watermark and security thread

1:06 which are incorporated into denominations five dollars in higher

1:09 the watermark and security thread should be visible from both sides of the note when

1:14 held to light. For denominations ten dollars and higher, the watermark matches

1:19 the portrait on the face of the banknote, The most recent five-dollar note has two

1:23 watermarks both of the numeral five. The security thread appears in a different

1:28 location for each denomination and glows a unique color when exposed to UV light.

1:32 To learn more about authenticating banknotes explore the interactive notes

1:38 and training module on uscurrency.gov

Narrator:
It takes one person to spend money, but many people to create money. These are the people from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, also known as the Money Factory.

Meet Brian. He's one of the Banknote Designers at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Brian Thompson, Banknote Designer:
My job is to design United States currency.

One thing about being a bank note designer is it's 98% thinking. You have to think about what you're going to do and think about what's going to work when it gets on the press. The easiest approach when designing, it's a big puzzle. You take different pieces and aspects of America or different things and piece it together almost like one united, almost like a story.

Different icons, such as the eagle, because I know we hand draw those and to end up seeing those on a note is pretty awesome, because you know, it's like your artwork is all over the world.

Narrator:
Once the design team has finalized the design, steel plates need to be created for the printing press.

This is Dixie. She's a script engraver and puts the finalized design into steel.

Dixie March, Script Engraver:
If you notice your money it has lettering on it and it also has numerals on it to denote the denomination. While we have designers that pick up and make designs, my job is to interpret their designs in steel.

Sitting and cutting script, because it's very rhythmical. You're just looking in your die through your glass and twirling the die around and cutting it.

There's not too many artists that could say that they've had their work replicated billions of times.

Narrator:
Once the plates are created, the money starts being printed. Blank currency sheets are brought in. First, the background images are printed. Then presses print the backs of the notes and then the faces of the notes. The final step is the printing of the serial number and Treasury and Federal Reserve seals.

Once the bills are printed, they're cut and packaged into "bricks." The completed loads are transferred and securely stored in the Federal Reserve Vault.