Convenience store owners used to measuring success in terms of how much greenthey have in the register are going to have to broaden their horizons just alittle bit as the Department of the Treasury announced plans to redesign the$10 bill to include a kaleidoscope of new colors including orange, red, yellowand copper.
The new notes will be eased into circulation at ATMs and commercial banks onMarch 2, depending on the demand by banks for new $10s to replace worn-out bills.The average lifespan for a $10 bill is three years while $1 bills last onlyabout 22 months. As with all currency changes, the old bills maintain theirfull value as long as they are in circulation.
The makeover of the $10 bill follows colorization of the $20 bill in 2003,and the $50 bill last year. The new $10 bill will still feature Alexander Hamilton,the nation's first Treasury secretary, on one side, and the Treasury buildingon the other side. The two images will be joined by the Statue of Liberty'storch and the phrase "We the People" in red along with small yellow 10s anda subtle orange background. All the changes are designed to thwart fraud.
"We expect to update currency every seven to 10 years in order to stay aheadof the latest digital technology available to would-be counterfeiters," saidTom Ferguson, director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
DEB plans call for the $100 bill to be redesigned in 2007, a change that wasdelayed to allow for more security features to be added to what is the favoritedenomination of counterfeiters outside the United States. There are no plansto change the $1, $2 or $5 bills.
