New $100 bill

New $100 bill: Too sci-fi?
The Treasury unveiled a revamped version of the $100 bill, complete with futuristic new security features. Some critics want a refund
posted on April 21, 2010, at 6:38 PM
The new $100 bill. Photo: Getty
Best Opinion: WSJ, The Awl, Death + Taxes

The U.S. Treasury has released images of a redesigned $100 bill with new, Bladerunner-esque security features. Benjamin Franklin now consorts with a blue 3D security ribbon and a "bell in the inkwell" security stamp whose color fluctuates from copper to green (watch a video preview below). While Gawker's Hamilton Nolan damned the futuristic new look as "embarrassingly colorful" — "it looks like a god damn child's crayon scratch pad" — other critics embraced the redesign, which will enter circulation next February: "This is money that tells you it is coming from the future," says Alex Balk at The Awl. "It's... confident and a little aggressive." Matt Kiebus at Death + Taxes is also dazzled: "The United States Treasury just made the most complicated piece of currency my eyes have ever seen," he says. "It's new, it's shiny, I want it." Here's an FX-heavy video from the U.S. Treasury outlining the changes: