$5 Bill to Have Splashes of Purple, Gray

In this image provided by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the front of the new five dollar bill is seen. Honest Abe is becoming colorful Abe with splashes of purple and gray. The government unveiled the newly designed bill Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, in Washington. (AP Photo/Bureau of Engraving and Printing) (AP)

Officials hope all the changes will make it harder for counterfeiters to pass fake bills. In the United States last year, there were 3,945 arrests related to counterfeit bills, equaling a loss of $62 million, according to the Secret Service.

Before the new bills go into circulation, there will be an education campaign focused on banks designed to let the public and businesses learn about the new security features.

"Our goal is to seamlessly introduce the redesigned bills to the public by working primarily with financial institutions in the United States and around the world," said Michael Lambert, the assistant director of reserve bank operations at the Federal Reserve.

The next bill to get a makeover will be the $100. It will feature the most advanced safeguard yet, a new security thread composed of 650,000 tiny lenses that will magnify micro-printing on the bills to give the effect of having the images move in the opposite direction than the bill is being moved.

The government is only about one-third of the way through the redesign of the $100 and hopes to have that process completed by this time next year. Extra effort is going into the $100 makeover since this bill represents more than 70 percent of the $776 billion of currency in circulation, two-thirds of which is held overseas.

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On the Net:

Bureau of Engraving and Printing new money site: http://www.moneyfactory.gov/newmoney