The hundred gets a ribbon
The current $100 note entered circulation on October 8, 2013, with a blue woven ribbon, a color-changing bell and enough interactive behavior to make a stationary piece of paper seem professionally restless.
Tilt becomes an authentication method
The blue 3-D Security Ribbon is woven into the paper rather than printed on it. When the note tilts, images of bells and 100s appear to move and change. The feature is easy for the public to inspect but technically demanding to reproduce.
Nearby, the Bell in the Inkwell changes from copper to green as the viewing angle changes. The bell can appear and disappear within the inkwell. These overt features join a watermark, color-shifting numeral, security thread, raised printing and microprinting.
A redesign with a long runway
The note was unveiled in 2010, but production difficulties delayed its release until 2013. Large-scale currency manufacturing tolerates less improvisation than a design presentation: notes must survive processing, circulation and intensive automated inspection.
The design retained Franklin, Independence Hall and the note’s familiar dimensions. New orange and blue elements broke the traditional near-monochrome look while preserving the underlying identity. The result was evolution with one unusually confident ribbon.
The institutional finding
Security features are most effective when the public actually uses them. The modern $100 turns verification into a short physical interaction: feel the texture, tilt the note, look through the paper. Monetary confidence becomes a three-step choreography suitable for cashiers and suspicious uncles.
Sources & further reading
These references support the factual claims. The institutional conclusions remain the sole responsibility of our highly decorative committee.
- 01U.S. Currency Education Program — $100 note
Official interactive guide to all current $100 security features.
- 02Federal Reserve — Redesigned $100 issued
Official release announcement and issue date.