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00:00Tonight on NOVA, they get washed, tossed, chewed, and now copied.
00:08What was once the domain of master craftsmen has become a playground for lawbreakers.
00:14There we go.
00:15Ah, that's great.
00:18That's astounding.
00:20But the feds are fighting back.
00:22Can they design a bill that will take the abuse and stop the counterfeiters?
00:27Secrets of making money.
00:30NOVA is funded by Prudential.
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01:18By the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.
01:24Down the guarded corridors of the U.S. Treasury, a secret project has been underway to counter a growing threat to the United States economy.
01:45A team of scientists and designers have crafted a new weapon for an age-old struggle.
01:55After five years behind closed doors, they are ready to reveal their work to the American public.
01:56After five years behind closed doors, they are ready to reveal their work to the American public.
02:00And now, ladies and gentlemen, indeed the moment we have been waiting for, the new currency.
02:10This new $100 bill is the Treasury's best defense in an escalating battle against counterfeiting.
02:19From its oversized portrait to its high-tech ink, this radically redesigned banknote marks a new era for American money.
02:41The $100 is the first note to be issued, but over the next few years, all denominations will face a similar overhaul.
02:53These bills must withstand counterfeiting threats unimaginable years ago.
02:58Threats that prompted the Treasury to overcome its long reluctance to tamper with the greenback.
03:06Few national symbols are as recognized worldwide as the U.S. dollar.
03:11At the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, America's banknote designers stood by
03:16as other countries pushed forward with new currencies and the latest counterfeit deterrence.
03:23Other countries have been very innovative in the field of security documents.
03:27Countries such as Australia, which has actually produced a currency on plastic,
03:31incorporating clear windows, which are difficult, obviously, for copiers to copy onto paper.
03:36The Austrians have added a kinogram, which is a feature which changes image.
03:42Mozart looks one way, and as you tilt the note, Mozart looks the other way.
03:48We tend to think of new things, things that are shiny or things that are added to the note as security feature.
03:54But everything, everything from the paper, the ink, the printing, the design,
03:59everything is intended to add some level of additional security to the document.
04:06For years, Tom Ferguson and his researchers explored other national currencies,
04:11looking for features that might one day update the greenback.
04:16U.S. currency has remained almost unaltered for over six decades.
04:30Its elegant but archaic design helped make it the most counterfeited in the world.
04:40With its 19th century look, it has been ill-equipped to fight counterfeiters of the 20th.
04:45The U.S. currency has been extremely vulnerable to counterfeiting for two reasons.
04:52The first is the design was created back in the mid-20s, released in 1929.
04:58It's given people a tremendous opportunity to practice their skills at counterfeiting.
05:04And the second reason is that it's an international currency.
05:08It's valued all over the world.
05:10And the further that you get from the United States,
05:13the less people have an appreciation of what a genuine note looks like.
05:18Over $360 million in counterfeit notes were confiscated in 1995 alone.
05:25Millions, perhaps billions more, went undetected.
05:29Every day in its New York branch, the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank,
05:36sorts and processes over 12 million used notes.
05:44Machines check the optical and magnetic properties of each bill
05:48so that counterfeits can be detected.
05:58These are the counterfeits found this month in New York City.
06:05Everywhere the problem is growing.
06:08Because over the past decade, the game of making a dishonest buck has changed.
06:23When New York printer Mike Landris was a young man,
06:26the world of counterfeiting was ruled by skilled craftsmen.
06:30A knowledge of photography and traditional printing techniques was essential.
06:35While a reformed man today, 30 years ago, Landris got caught with green fingers.
06:42In his book, I Made It Myself, he recalls the lure of making easy money.
06:49I was arrested for counterfeiting in 1964.
06:52I happened to be regarded as one of the lucky few in American history
06:56who wasn't sent to jail because of some mitigating circumstances with the Secret Service.
07:02In the over 40 years that I have been a printer,
07:06I have never once met a cameraman in this industry
07:09who hasn't at least once put a Federal Reserve note
07:12in the copyboard of his camera for the purpose of shooting a negative.
07:16This in itself is a felony,
07:18except that I'm going to blow it up 150% to conform with federal regulations.
07:23For years, the key to making a bogus buck was a good negative.
07:34Watch that beautiful fine line, elegant engraving coming up at you gradually
07:38with this red safe flag around.
07:40Your heart starts to beat.
07:42And it's a weird thing because you're surreptitious,
07:46you've entered some kind of criminal adventure
07:50that doesn't even seem like a crime.
07:53And as he becomes clearer and clearer and elegantly defined,
07:58that is almost analogous to reaching orgasm.
08:08But a single negative isn't enough.
08:10The bill has two colors, green and black,
08:14and a separate negative is needed for each.
08:20The green treasury seal somehow must be removed
08:24from the word 50 printed in black below it.
08:27For obvious reasons,
08:29the tricks of this technique cannot be divulged.
08:32If I had realized, of course, at the time,
08:35what it can do to your life,
08:37I never would have attempted it.
08:39And my advice to anybody who keeps thinking about that,
08:44don't go beyond shooting the negative.
08:45And when you get through shooting the negative,
08:47put it in the tray of Clorox and let it,
08:49watch it all bleach out and wind up with a clear piece of film
08:52and you'll wind up with a clear mind.
09:00Today, counterfeiters don't need to shoot a negative.
09:03This is a high-definition laser scanner.
09:07It can replace the work of photography
09:10in making printing plates.
09:12After the fine line details of the bill
09:19have been converted into electronic data,
09:22the touch-up work for the counterfeit begins.
09:29Okay, Mike, let's see what we've got here.
09:35Let's focus in and blow up the section
09:37where the treasury seal overprints the word 50.
09:44Once again, they home in on the treasury seal.
09:47For the computer, it's an easy target.
09:50There we go.
09:52Ah, that's great.
09:54That's astounding.
09:56It took me more than a week to fool around
09:58with manual masking and blowing up and reducing.
10:02Oh, that's...
10:07After a good copy of a bill is obtained
10:10by photography or laser scanner,
10:12the next step is to make a plate for printing.
10:16Add carefully selected ink,
10:19some fine quality paper,
10:22and the counterfeits are ready to roll.
10:31This is an offset printing press
10:33responsible for 90% of all counterfeits.
10:36Sometimes, high technology is used
10:41to make things go faster,
10:42but the skills of a printer like Mike Landris
10:45are still needed to produce the notes.
10:49Well, as far as all the new robotics
10:51and laser scanners
10:52and everything that we're experiencing
10:54in the last 15 years,
10:55I don't think that'll have...
10:57that'll have little or no effect
10:59on a traditional printer.
11:00We don't have to...
11:01That's basically the same method
11:03that...
11:04and the temptation is the same.
11:05All it does is save a little bit of time.
11:10But the other technology that's out there,
11:12these color photocopiers,
11:15I think it just widens the potential.
11:18It makes the potential much larger.
11:20It seems so easy to do.
11:24Everybody must realize
11:25it's the same felony.
11:27Stick your Federal Reserve note
11:30into one of those photocopiers
11:31for the purpose of reproducing it.
11:33It's still a major crime.
11:41New technologies have created
11:43a new breed of criminal,
11:45so-called casual counterfeiters.
11:47The 50s are a little bit yellow,
11:49so we would just knock down the yellow.
11:51It would also knock down
11:52a little bit of the green.
11:53Well, this is the first copy that came off.
11:55So, that's why it's not an exact match.
11:58And printing on both sides?
12:00It's not recommended,
12:02but it's possible.
12:03The company doesn't recommend doing it,
12:05so we don't.
12:06But it has been done.
12:07I've seen it.
12:08The traditional counterfeiter had to go buy
12:13fairly large, sophisticated equipment
12:15and materials.
12:16Those are things that are easy
12:17for law enforcement people
12:18to monitor and to control.
12:20The concern of the future
12:22would be the modern reprographic equipment,
12:25copiers, scanners, computer printers,
12:27that would be available in the office place
12:30and even the home.
12:32The concern of five people
12:36each making 10,000 notes
12:38is much different than 10,000 people
12:40each making five notes.
12:42Casual counterfeiting is growing.
12:45If unchecked,
12:47it could reach two billion dollars a year
12:49by the year 2000.
12:51Evidence of this new style of counterfeiting
12:57has accumulated in the archives
12:59of the Secret Service.
13:01Their files contain
13:02over 20,000 varieties of notes,
13:06some more convincing than others.
13:10I would say that the majority
13:11of the counterfeits
13:12that are contained in our specimen vault
13:14are obvious counterfeits.
13:17Now, granted,
13:18I am a counterfeit specialist,
13:19so I examine counterfeit currency
13:21and I look at currency on a daily basis.
13:24But there are thousands and thousands
13:25of examples.
13:27This would be an obvious counterfeit.
13:29It is a five-dollar banknote
13:31that was produced
13:32on a black-and-white copier machine
13:35and the treasury seal
13:37has been filled in with green ink.
13:39This is a terrible reproduction
13:42and it was passed on the public.
13:46Color copies are much better
13:51than black-and-white
13:52but they are still no match
13:55for the genuine.
13:57Color copier notes
13:59look different from a genuine
14:01for a number of reasons.
14:03They generally give us
14:04somewhat of a shinier appearance
14:06and because genuine currency
14:08is not white paper,
14:09the copier machine
14:11fills in the non-image area
14:13with toner,
14:15which gives the counterfeit note
14:16overall a somewhat yellow
14:17or dingy appearance.
14:19In addition,
14:20the entire image
14:21is just not nearly as clear.
14:23It's a lot muddier
14:24than you would see
14:25on a genuine banknote.
14:27The tell-tale sign
14:29of virtually all counterfeits,
14:31whether color copied
14:32or offset printed
14:34is their flat look and feel.
14:39The raised ink quality
14:41of genuine currency
14:42is the result
14:43of a special printing process
14:44called intaglio.
14:48It begins with fine line engravings
14:50carved in soft steel.
14:52From the hand cut engravings,
14:58final printing plates
14:59are made for mass production
15:01on enormous intaglio presses.
15:06Ink will fill the grooves
15:08of the engravings
15:09and under 20 tons
15:11of pressure
15:12will be forced out
15:13onto the surface
15:14of the paper.
15:18The resulting banknote
15:19has the raised ink feel
15:21and three-dimensional look
15:23that is the hallmark
15:24of the genuine article.
15:33While other countries
15:34radically revamped their money
15:35to make it more secure,
15:37the U.S. continued
15:38to rely primarily
15:39on old-world engravings.
15:44Despite clear signs
15:45of its age,
15:46the Treasury felt no need
15:48to overhaul the green bank.
15:50But in the early 1990s,
15:55the government sprang
15:56into action.
15:58Was it new technology
15:59or something far more threatening
16:01that prompted the change?
16:03I think the real concern
16:04by the Treasury Department
16:06is in the professional counterfeiter,
16:08not the casual counterfeiter.
16:10The casual counterfeiter
16:11obviously bothers them
16:13because somebody can take
16:15a note,
16:16put it on a photocopy machine,
16:18go down to a subway station
16:20or a money change machine
16:22and be able to get
16:23some sort of currency.
16:25But they're dealing
16:27with a 10 or a 5
16:28or maybe a $20 bill.
16:30But the real significant
16:32counterfeiting
16:33are the $100 bills
16:34which are circulating
16:35all over the world.
16:39Nearly two-thirds
16:40of U.S. cash
16:42is overseas.
16:44So counterfeiting
16:45is a worldwide problem.
16:49Where demand for dollars
16:50is strong,
16:51such as in Russia,
16:52there has been a surge
16:53in high-quality counterfeiting.
16:56In 1993 alone,
16:58the amount confiscated
16:59abroad grew 300%.
17:02The most popular target
17:03of international counterfeiters
17:05is the $100 bill.
17:09These counterfeit hundreds
17:10support arms purchases,
17:12the drug trade
17:13and terrorist activity.
17:16There are even suggestions
17:17that counterfeiting
17:18is being used
17:19as a calculated attack
17:20on the nation.
17:23A Republican Congressional
17:24Task Force
17:25issued strong charges
17:26with this 1992 report
17:28warning,
17:30Evidence has recently
17:31come to light
17:32that the governments
17:33of Iran and Syria
17:34are actively engaged
17:36in economic warfare
17:37against the United States
17:39through the production
17:40and dissemination
17:41of high-quality
17:42counterfeit dollar bills.
17:47The report describes
17:48a conspiracy arising
17:49from the ruins of the war
17:50between Iran and Iraq.
17:53Short of hard currency,
17:55the Iranian government
17:56allegedly launched
17:57counterfeiting operations
17:59to help the country rebuild.
18:02The Iranian government
18:03dismisses these charges.
18:05But there are counterfeits
18:06of such high quality
18:07found in the Middle East.
18:09They're called supernotes.
18:12They have the raised ink
18:13feel of bills printed
18:14on intaglio presses,
18:17equipment generally owned
18:18by governments.
18:19Ninety percent
18:20of the presses
18:21that are used to print
18:22security paper
18:23come from one company,
18:25Della Ruggiori
18:26in Switzerland.
18:27And Iran
18:28has these presses.
18:29They obtained them
18:30in the 1970s
18:31as many other countries
18:33throughout the world.
18:34Anybody that has
18:35this equipment
18:36has the same equipment
18:37the United States has.
18:38So it's not unthinkable
18:39that another country
18:40has these presses
18:41and is capable
18:42of using them
18:43if they want to subvert
18:44the U.S. economy.
18:45Whether that's Iran
18:46or some other
18:47Middle Eastern country,
18:48I don't know.
18:49but the possibility exists.
18:54The Secret Service
18:55has confiscated
18:56nearly ten million dollars
18:57of the notes circulating
18:58in the Middle East.
18:59But the source
19:00of the super bill
19:01remains elusive.
19:03Without definitive proof,
19:05the Secret Service
19:06will neither confirm
19:07nor refute
19:08the allegations
19:09of state support.
19:12There is a number
19:14of high quality counterfeits
19:15that circulate
19:16around the world.
19:17There are high quality notes
19:20that do come out
19:22of the Middle East.
19:23There are high quality notes
19:24that come out
19:25of Columbia,
19:26South America,
19:27also out of Canada.
19:29I have no knowledge
19:32of any state sponsorship
19:34of any of these
19:35particular operations.
19:38Tales of the super node
19:39and other counterfeiting threats
19:41led members of Congress
19:43to call for a currency redesign.
19:45Treasury decided to act.
19:47But the reasons
19:49are debatable.
19:51I think Treasury
19:52in coming out
19:53with this redesign
19:54of currency
19:55is responding
19:57to a significant threat.
19:58And whether that threat
20:00originates
20:01in the Middle East
20:02or the Far East
20:03I can't say for certain.
20:05but the money
20:07that they're spending
20:08upon the change
20:10has to be proportion
20:13to the risk involved.
20:15The new currency
20:16is a response
20:18to growing technology.
20:20It is not a response
20:21to a specific crisis.
20:23There is no crisis.
20:24The American currency system
20:25is extremely sound.
20:27There is very,
20:28very little counterfeiting
20:29actually in circulation.
20:31this is to get ahead
20:32of the curve
20:33and to stay ahead
20:34of the curve.
20:37Whether staying ahead
20:38of the curve
20:39or playing catch-up
20:41the Treasury
20:42has a massive job ahead.
20:46The initial rollout
20:47calls for 50 billion dollars
20:50in new 100 dollar bills.
20:53They have started
20:54where the counterfeiting
20:55problem is most pressing.
20:57But every denomination
20:59from the 100 on down
21:01will be redesigned
21:02and issued
21:03in the next few years.
21:06These notes
21:07must thwart
21:07all types
21:08of counterfeiting.
21:10They must be difficult
21:11for color copiers
21:12to reproduce
21:13and stymie
21:14even the most sophisticated
21:16intaglio printing
21:17operations.
21:20To make a new
21:21100 dollar bill
21:22Treasury
21:23had to reconsider
21:24each element
21:25of the old note.
21:26They explored
21:28over 120 different
21:29security features
21:31from barcodes
21:32to invisible inks
21:33to holograms.
21:35But of these
21:36starting contenders
21:37most would not
21:38make the cut.
21:39The key to security
21:41would be a balance
21:42of high technology
21:44and old world
21:45craftsmanship.
21:46No single feature
21:48is available
21:49that will make
21:50a perfect document.
21:51A feature that
21:52is so good
21:54that adding that one feature
21:56to the existing design
21:57or even to a new design
21:58will make the document
21:59counterfeit proof.
22:01What we've attempted
22:02to do
22:03is to layer a design
22:04adding lots and lots
22:06of features
22:07several features anyway
22:08at different layers
22:09that will provide
22:10the general public
22:11with easy means
22:12of authentication
22:13while making it
22:14more and more difficult
22:15to counterfeit.
22:16In the world of money-making
22:22even a paper mill
22:23is a fortress
22:24guarding national secrets.
22:29Crane and Company
22:30has made special paper
22:31for U.S. currency
22:32since 1879
22:34and has never before
22:35allowed cameras
22:36to document this process.
22:38Their paper is unlike
22:48any other in the world.
22:53And for the new currency
22:55Crane redesigned it
22:57to be even more secure
22:58against counterfeiting.
22:59In redesigning the paper
23:02there was one property
23:04that we were told
23:05could not change
23:06and that is the feel
23:08and the stiffness
23:10and the texture
23:11that the public
23:12has become accustomed to.
23:14That stiffness
23:15the crackle
23:16is fundamental
23:17in detecting
23:18counterfeits
23:19and circulation.
23:20It is recognized
23:21by more bank tellers
23:22by more merchants
23:24at the point of sale
23:25than any other property
23:26of the paper.
23:33The feel of banknot paper
23:35springs from a special blend
23:37of raw materials.
23:40Unlike most paper
23:41made from wood
23:42banknotes
23:43come from the same materials
23:44that make cloth
23:45soft and strong
23:48cotton and linen.
23:52Denim scraps
23:53from Levi Strauss
23:54and other jeans makers
23:56will contribute
23:57to this all-American product
24:00but the primary constituent
24:01is raw cotton.
24:03Here 6,000 pounds
24:05are loaded
24:06into an enormous boiler.
24:11The boiler
24:12pressure cooks
24:12the raw cotton
24:13for two hours
24:14in a caustic bath.
24:21The cooked cotton
24:22is then clean,
24:23bleached
24:24and further refined.
24:25The cotton
24:35and linen fibers
24:36must be broken down
24:37in a precise way
24:38to ensure
24:39the strength
24:40and feel
24:41of the final paper.
24:44In this wet state
24:45security features
24:46can be incorporated
24:48into the paper itself.
24:51The greenish,
24:52off-white tint
24:53of the pulp
24:53is carefully adjusted.
25:00Tiny red and blue
25:01fibers are added.
25:04A safeguard of U.S. currency
25:05for more than a century.
25:08The Secret Service
25:09has observed
25:09that few counterfeiters
25:11effectively recreate
25:12this feature.
25:15Here we have
25:16samples of counterfeit
25:17where the red and blue
25:19security fibers
25:20have not been simulated.
25:21so there are no
25:23red and blue fibers
25:24in the paper.
25:25So to look at these
25:27and have the note
25:29completely void
25:30of any red and blue
25:31security fibers
25:32would tell me
25:33or should tell
25:34anybody immediately
25:35that you have
25:36a counterfeit note
25:37in front of you.
25:39But another security
25:40device had to be
25:41embedded in the paper
25:42to defeat
25:43a more sophisticated
25:44type of counterfeit
25:45called
25:46a raised note.
25:48The samples
25:50that we have here
25:51are two samples
25:53of counterfeit
25:54U.S. dollars
25:55where the paper
25:57is actually
25:58genuine U.S. currency.
26:00This was
26:01accomplished
26:02by taking a
26:03one dollar banknote,
26:04removing the ink
26:05and then putting it
26:06through a printing press
26:08and printing a hundred
26:09dollar denomination
26:10on here.
26:11So the result is
26:13that you have
26:14a counterfeit
26:16hundred dollar banknote
26:17on bleached
26:18genuine U.S. currency
26:19paper.
26:20And since most cash
26:21handlers detect
26:22counterfeit
26:23by the feel,
26:24this gives the counterfeiter
26:25a very significant
26:26advantage
26:27for passing
26:28his product.
26:29To prevent
26:32the raising of notes,
26:33Treasury needed
26:34a way to mark
26:35the paper
26:36of each denomination
26:37as unique.
26:38Crane and Company
26:41had the answer.
26:42An update
26:43of an old idea.
26:45Security threads.
26:48The idea
26:50of putting
26:51security threads
26:52in banknote paper
26:53is a very old idea.
26:55This paper here
26:56is from
26:57our archives
26:58which depicts
26:59multiple
27:00in this case
27:02cotton threads
27:03three joined
27:04together
27:05very closely here
27:06running across
27:07the paper sample
27:09and these other
27:10samples with
27:11single threads.
27:12In this banknote
27:14from the late 1800's
27:16the threads are rather
27:17more difficult to see.
27:18There are two security
27:20threads running
27:21the length of the note.
27:22These are actual
27:23filaments of yarn
27:25and these threads
27:26serve to denominate
27:27the banknote
27:28to prevent
27:29a low denomination
27:30banknote
27:31from being washed
27:32clean of its ink
27:33and being raised
27:34to a higher value.
27:35security threads
27:43today have numbers
27:44on them denoting
27:45a bill's value.
27:46The numbers
27:48are forty-two
27:49thousands
27:50of an inch tall.
27:51Cutting
27:52this film
27:53into individual
27:54threads
27:55requires immaculate
27:56precision
27:57monitored
27:59by cameras
28:01and computers.
28:11The text is clearly
28:12visible in transmitted
28:13light
28:18but cannot be reproduced
28:20by the reflective light
28:21of a photocopier.
28:22threads for the new currency
28:27also glow red
28:28under UV light.
28:37The security threads
28:38will appear
28:39in different locations
28:40on each denomination
28:42making raising the notes
28:44even more difficult.
28:45The threads are embedded
28:51into wet paper pulp
28:52on the giant machine
28:53that shapes
28:54Crane's paper.
28:55The secret process
28:57could not be filmed.
29:01Using furnace-like heat
29:02the machine dries
29:03the pulp
29:04into finished paper.
29:05The final rolls
29:07eight feet wide
29:08and weighing
29:09more than four tons
29:10hold paper strong
29:12enough to make money.
29:14Currency is kind of
29:16like a pizza.
29:17There's the base crust
29:19which is the paper
29:21and all the toppings
29:22and they may be
29:23printed features
29:24they may be
29:25paper maker features
29:26they may be
29:27optically variable
29:28devices
29:29but in any case
29:30all of this pizza
29:31is built up
29:32on the
29:33extremely important
29:34crust
29:35the durable
29:36bank note paper
29:37and without
29:38the durability
29:39the circulation
29:40lifetime
29:41the resistance
29:42to wear
29:42the pizza
29:45would fall apart.
29:49The toppings
29:50that are printed
29:51on bank note paper
29:52can symbolize
29:53a great deal
29:54about a country.
30:05When nations
30:06undergo political change
30:07change
30:07it is often reflected
30:08in the images
30:09on their currency.
30:16Likewise
30:17maintaining icons
30:18on a nation's
30:19bank note
30:20can signify
30:21stability.
30:25In revamping
30:26U.S. currency
30:27the question of
30:28changing the basic
30:29images
30:30a political can
30:31of worms
30:32was never opened.
30:34The task presented
30:35was to increase
30:36or enhance
30:37the security
30:38of the note.
30:39That was the sole purpose
30:40of the redesign.
30:41There was no interest
30:43or intent to
30:44aesthetically change
30:45the note
30:46to change
30:47the people
30:48who were honored
30:49to change the buildings
30:50or anything else
30:51that would
30:52just add
30:53to the aesthetics
30:54of the note
30:55as opposed to security.
30:59But not everyone
31:00is so satisfied
31:01with the aesthetics
31:02of U.S. currency.
31:08Long before Treasury
31:09unveiled its new
31:10$100 note
31:11J.S.G. Boggs
31:14was offering
31:15his own variations.
31:16A darling of the art world
31:31Boggs has drawn
31:33the wrath
31:35of the Secret Service
31:36and has drawn
31:37the wrath
31:38of the Secret Service
31:39because America's
31:43premier money artist
31:44not only makes
31:45his own cash
31:46he also spends it.
31:48I made these bills.
31:49Oh, they're
31:50really great.
31:51Well, I'm glad
31:52you think so
31:53because I'd like
31:54to pay for the CDs.
31:55Okay.
31:56It's one of these bills.
31:57But that's not
31:58going to work.
31:59Why not?
32:00Because this isn't legal
32:01to end up.
32:02It's not real money.
32:10Well, actually,
32:11you're right.
32:11It's not real money.
32:12What it is
32:13is it's art
32:14that depicts money.
32:15People often
32:16make this mistake.
32:17They say,
32:17what differentiates
32:19money from art?
32:20Well,
32:21money is art.
32:23I mean,
32:24there are other
32:25kinds of art.
32:26But money is art.
32:27It's pictures
32:28and pigment on paper.
32:29It's portraiture.
32:30It's landscape.
32:31It's abstract geometric.
32:33And it is the ultimate
32:35abstract art.
32:36It's a symbol
32:37for something else.
32:44Boggs never sells
32:45bills directly.
32:47He only parts
32:48with them
32:48through transactions.
32:50They have paid
32:51for hotel stays,
32:52plots of land,
32:54even the motorcycle
32:56Boggs rides.
33:01collectors will offer
33:03many times
33:04the face value
33:05to purchase a bill
33:06that Boggs has made.
33:07But they won't
33:09have the opportunity
33:10to display a bill
33:11unless someone
33:12has accepted it
33:13in trade.
33:18As a money connoisseur,
33:20Boggs is concerned
33:21that Treasury's
33:22redesign of U.S.
33:23currency won't
33:24go far enough.
33:25Money is the most public
33:30of public arts.
33:31And it has to
33:33catch up and reflect
33:35our society today.
33:39Boggs proposes
33:40his own series
33:41for American currency.
33:42On his 100,
33:44he pays tribute
33:45to the leader
33:46of the Underground
33:47Railroad.
33:48I've chosen
33:50Harriet Tubman
33:50because I think
33:51she fits all
33:52the criteria
33:53for who we
33:54should have
33:55on our money.
33:56She was a great
33:57American hero
33:58who risked her life
33:59for right
34:00in the face
34:01of all adversity.
34:02That's everything
34:04that we worship
34:05as Americans.
34:06How much change
34:08for their money
34:09do Americans want?
34:10Hi.
34:11Through his transactions,
34:13Boggs conducts
34:15random surveys.
34:16Who do you think
34:18should be
34:19on our money?
34:20I mean,
34:21I'd like to see
34:22a woman's face
34:23on money.
34:24Not everyone would.
34:25I guess ideally
34:27I'd like to see
34:28someone that is
34:29well-respected
34:30by the United States
34:32as a whole.
34:33Is that,
34:34is it possible
34:35to come up
34:36with a face like that?
34:37Why not make
34:38a composite sketch
34:39of what an American
34:40looks like?
34:41Big,
34:42jowly,
34:43you know,
34:44put different ethnic
34:45features
34:46and,
34:47you know,
34:48face protruding
34:49through the,
34:50the,
34:51the bill.
34:52And that's
34:53your composite sketch.
34:54That's who
34:55an American is.
34:56I'm interested
34:57in buying this book,
34:58which is $24.95,
35:00and take this $100 bill,
35:03give me the receipt
35:04and the change,
35:05and we will have
35:06performed the transaction.
35:08could be the start of something.
35:13Yeah,
35:14something bad.
35:17Or,
35:18something good.
35:19If accepted,
35:20one of these bills
35:21could be worth thousands
35:22of dollars
35:23to an art collector.
35:26Well, listen,
35:27thank you very much.
35:28You've been very kind
35:29in spending the time,
35:30and that in itself
35:31is worth more than money.
35:33While Boggs is the art world's
35:38most renowned money man,
35:40he is not the only artist
35:42with novel proposals
35:43for a new U.S. currency.
35:45These bills
35:50honor as portrait subjects
35:52a range of great Americans,
35:54from Martha Graham
35:55to Martin Luther King.
36:01Some stay with Franklin,
36:03heeding tradition,
36:04but with a twist.
36:08Others take a more
36:09tongue-in-cheek tack.
36:10But at Treasury,
36:15the choice is clear.
36:17Benjamin Franklin
36:19will still appear
36:20on the New Hundred.
36:21It's a different engraving
36:22of Benjamin Franklin,
36:23larger,
36:24based on a new portrait
36:26of Ben,
36:27but still Benjamin Franklin.
36:29People around the world
36:30know Ben Franklin's
36:31on the Hundred.
36:32He still will be
36:33on the Hundred.
36:35Portraits are not only icons.
36:37They are also important
36:38security features.
36:39The designers
36:42researched a number
36:43of Franklins
36:44trying to find
36:45just the right one.
36:50The portrait
36:51on the face
36:52of U.S. currency
36:54is probably
36:55the best single printed
36:57security feature we have.
36:58It is something
37:00that people recognize.
37:01People are used
37:02to looking at
37:03other people's faces.
37:04We do it every day.
37:05The human face provides
37:07a wide variety
37:09of features,
37:10character,
37:11different planes,
37:13different levels
37:14of tone
37:15that provide
37:16an engraver,
37:17in the case of
37:18intaglio type printing,
37:19the opportunity
37:20to do a lot.
37:21The new portrait
37:22of Benjamin Franklin
37:23provided
37:24a kind of
37:25an enigmatic look,
37:26one I think
37:27that draws
37:28people's attention
37:29to the portrait.
37:30portrait.
37:31The portrait selected
37:32is passed on
37:33to the mastered
37:34engraver,
37:35who must carve
37:36a lifelike image
37:37into steel.
37:41The final work
37:42took nearly a year
37:43to complete.
37:45I actually had a lot
37:46of time to work
37:47on this particular
37:48project.
37:49So over that period
37:50of time, I read
37:51three books about
37:52Franklin.
37:53I read his own
37:54autobiography and
37:55several things written
37:56about him and several
37:57things that he wrote.
37:58And I think he was
37:59a wonderful character.
38:00I mean, he was a
38:01human being of
38:02incredible proportion.
38:04I especially like
38:05the idea that he
38:06began as a tradesman.
38:07He was a printer,
38:08which is almost
38:09the same trade
38:10that I'm in.
38:14Tom Hiption is the
38:15first artist in
38:16over six decades
38:17to put an original
38:18portrait on U.S.
38:19currency.
38:20He is one of a
38:21select group of
38:22engravers skilled
38:23for the task.
38:26Engravers must adapt
38:28to a looking-glass
38:29world.
38:31To face right
38:32on the final bill,
38:34Franklin must look
38:35left on the
38:36engraved plate.
38:41The artist must
38:42also work his magic
38:43within a tiny frame.
38:47I'm restricted to a
38:48very specific size
38:49because it has to
38:50fit in with everything
38:51else.
38:53I start with a photo
38:54reduction of the image
38:55to the exact size
38:56that it has to be.
38:57And I make a very
38:58precise drawing of that.
39:03I'm absolutely certain
39:04about the line patterns
39:05I want and the way I
39:06want it to appear
39:07before I actually do
39:08any cutting.
39:09Because once a line
39:10or a dot is cut out
39:11of the steel, you can't
39:12put it back.
39:13There's no backing up
39:14on it.
39:17Each line and dot
39:18carved into the steel
39:19will translate into
39:21raised ink on the
39:22final note.
39:25Hiption's work will be
39:26printed in an edition
39:27of billions and face
39:29the reviews of an
39:30audience worldwide.
39:31people comment on the
39:33smirk.
39:34I didn't really intend
39:35to put a smirk on the
39:37portrait.
39:38But I did go for a
39:39painterly effect, which I
39:41think was the best part
39:43of that portrait.
39:44He's a witty guy.
39:46And I wanted to have that
39:48come across.
39:49Ben Franklin, with his
39:56Mona Lisa smile, wears an
39:59additional security feature.
40:01Micro printed in his lapel
40:04is the text, United States
40:06of America.
40:08The portrait is put on a
40:10background that also provides
40:12security.
40:13The concentric lines of this
40:14oval are designed to create
40:16interference when scanned by a
40:18laser.
40:22When photocopied, the oval will
40:23be scarred by distortions.
40:27The new portrait is placed
40:28slightly off center.
40:31This will leave clear space
40:32on the right side of the
40:33bill for another important
40:34new feature.
40:37The watermark.
40:40Watermarks are the most
40:41commonly used security
40:42feature in banknotes
40:43around the world.
40:46These shadowy images can be
40:48seen only when backlit.
40:53While centuries old,
40:54watermarks combat today's
40:56counterfeiting technology.
41:00Like the security thread,
41:01the watermark cannot be
41:03reproduced by a scanner or
41:05photocopier.
41:08There's a common misconception
41:09that the watermark is
41:10something embedded in the
41:12paper after the paper is
41:13made.
41:14Watermarks are actually a part
41:17of the three-dimensional
41:18structure of the paper.
41:19They're nothing added to the
41:20paper.
41:21They are formed within it.
41:24The fiber is more dense in the
41:26opaque dark areas, and there's
41:28less fiber in the light more
41:30transmissive areas.
41:31And as a result, you have this
41:33astounding range in total
41:35gradation that to the feel, to
41:38the hand of the paper, it's
41:40different.
41:41It's hard to imagine that this
41:42is simply a variation in the
41:44thickness and the density of
41:45the paper.
41:47The watermark on the New
41:48Hundred will be the same
41:49Franklin image as the printed
41:51portrait.
41:54The image is scanned into a
41:56computer.
41:58The computer will generate
41:59instructions for an engraving
42:01machine that will cut Franklin
42:03into wax.
42:04The result is a rough wax template.
42:10The final mold requires a human
42:13touch.
42:17Where more wax is scraped away,
42:19more room will be left for paper
42:21fiber to build up, creating darker
42:23areas in the Franklin image.
42:25This old world artistry is still
42:30critical for a 21st century bank
42:34note.
42:38From the wax template, a hard
42:40copper dye is created.
42:44It's used to stamp Franklin's
42:45image into a sheet of wire mesh.
42:51When wet paper pulp is dried on
42:53the wire sheets, Franklin will be
42:56indelibly formed.
43:00Human inspection safeguards the
43:02high quality of watermarks.
43:09But most inspection of Crane's
43:11paper is done by machine.
43:16As the paper is cut, cameras
43:18catch even the slightest defect in
43:20the sheets whizzing by.
43:21Any rejects are automatically cast out.
43:39The final reams are trimmed, taped,
43:41stamped and shipped.
43:42These seals should only be broken when
43:53the paper reaches the Bureau of Engraving
43:55and Printing.
43:59There, the paper will be printed with
44:00ink also formulated to fight
44:02counterfeiting.
44:03The green of American greenbacks does not come
44:10from a single pigment.
44:15It's made from a secret mixture of pigments
44:17and binding agents.
44:20Dollar green is quite hard to copy.
44:23But wouldn't it be even harder if combined with
44:25other colors?
44:26In Holland, bright primary colors have given banknotes a
44:31decidedly modern look.
44:37The celebrated Dutch designer, Oxenar, paved the way in the
44:40seventies.
44:42In the beginning, when I started with banknotes, I saw all these
44:46banknotes everywhere in the world.
44:48You see the tier two, the French, the Italian, the Chinese.
44:52They were very muddy in color.
44:55And the only banknotes that really inspired me, in fact,
45:00was play money, like the monopoly money.
45:04And that is what I think is necessary for banknotes too.
45:10I made things that you can easily see what you have in your
45:13hands.
45:14You can easily see they're very clear.
45:17They have a clear typography.
45:18They have a clear color.
45:19They're also easy and practical to produce.
45:25And they're very well protected.
45:28For us, that would be considered a terrible thing to have
45:31our design compared to monopoly money or to play money, as
45:35it would symbolize to us less value.
45:38But in other countries, that's fine.
45:40That's what they're used to.
45:41It's what they expect to see.
45:43In the United States, we expect a very traditional, very
45:46classic design.
45:48Admittedly, in the 70s, we looked at color as potentially having
45:54some additional security value.
45:56However, the modern reprographic systems are so good at reproducing
46:01multi-color that, in fact, the addition of color was found
46:04not to be an enhancement to the security.
46:07And since we only were making changes to the currency, not for
46:11aesthetics, but to enhance the security, it was determined that
46:14adding color was not something we wanted to do.
46:16Once again respecting tradition, treasury officials deemed that
46:21the new 100 would remain dollar green and black.
46:25But they were willing to consider something radically new.
46:29Could a hologram work on U.S. currency?
46:33Holograms are three-dimensional images that safeguard against even
46:38sophisticated forgers.
46:40Some countries have put them on their high-value notes.
46:45But holograms are delicate foil structures that can be easily damaged.
46:50All features for the new currency have to pass a series of grueling trials
46:59in the Bureau's banknote torture chamber.
47:02Here, a sample hologram must face the dreaded crumpler.
47:07This contraption inflicts more damage than even the tightest fist.
47:20After just a single crumple, the hologram shows defeat.
47:39The treasury posed a challenge to scientists at Flex Products in California.
47:45Create an image-shifting device like a hologram, but one that can survive the crumpler.
47:52In their first attempt, they deposited thin layers of reflective and clear materials on plastic strips.
47:58This created a foil that changed color when struck by light from different angles.
48:05The foil, here stamped out as a treasury seal, would be hard to counterfeit.
48:11But the delicate foil would be crushed by the crumpler.
48:15So the Flex team had to come up with a new idea.
48:18They stripped off the top layer of foil and ground it into a fine powder.
48:25The powder was used as a pigment in ink that could be printed on currency.
48:40The ink, printed here as the number 100, shows a good color shift from black to green.
48:54And, even after multiple crumples, the color shifting 100 in the lower right corner endures.
49:02But the crumpler is just the beginning.
49:05We put our notes through a simulation that greatly abuses that piece of paper.
49:11We soak it in gasoline, we soak it in ethanol.
49:15A test note is subjected to merciless rubbing and the equivalent of weeks of intense sunlight.
49:30We've run it through washing machines and dryers.
49:33We've put it in cement mixers with dirt and soil and blocks to try and simulate things that can be done through the currency.
49:41And yet we're sure that the public is finding more and more ways to abuse this piece of paper.
49:47And we want to make sure that it lasts.
49:49Bank notes must be made to last, but even when they don't, they are still legal tender.
49:58A dollar is a dollar, no matter what shape it is in.
50:02The government guarantees that even the most mutilated notes can be redeemed.
50:08We get cases that have been chewed by dogs, horses, pigs, and termites.
50:16It's the most popular of them.
50:18The claimant did not indicate in their correspondence that this was eaten by termites.
50:23But because of years of experience and the characteristics of a general termite case,
50:28we're able to ascertain that this was eaten by termites.
50:32Now the examiner is actually going to go through and duplicate each note.
50:38And what I mean by duplication, she's going to choose one area on this blob of currency here.
50:46And I suppose that what she will actually do is take the corners.
50:49And she will go through and just paste down each corner.
50:53If she gets five corners duplicated in the same spot,
50:57she will automatically know that she has five, five dollar bills.
51:06Piecing together the parts of the new currency may be considerably easier.
51:12Following thorough trials of the individual features,
51:15the Treasury's designers put the puzzle together.
51:20Here, technical and aesthetic concerns are balanced.
51:26The sheer number of new features means that the decorative scroll work
51:30of the old greenback must be simplified.
51:33In the lower right, the Treasury's durable high-tech ink
51:37shifts from traditional dollar green to black.
51:43The numeral in the lower left reveals one hundreds within a hundred,
51:48micro-printing to defy reproduction.
51:53Franklin's watermark is firmly fixed within the paper.
51:59And a security thread guards against the raising of notes.
52:04These new security features also have secret allies,
52:08covert features known only to the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Secret Service.
52:14With its mix of overt deterrence and hidden tricks,
52:19has the Treasury created an unforgeable note?
52:23The ultimate goal of a security printer is to produce the perfect document.
52:27One that we can produce over and over again billions of times,
52:31and yet no one else can ever produce.
52:34That goal is the ultimate but impossible.
52:38Nothing that we can produce is perfect to the point no one else could ever produce it.
52:43What we want to do is to make it so difficult that they won't try,
52:48but we would never claim that this design,
52:51or a design we would expect to do even in the future, would be perfect.
52:56This new currency will gradually replace all of the old $100 bills.
53:03But there will be no recall of the old notes.
53:06For a while, they will be in circulation together.
53:09And the Secret Service expects to see counterfeits of both designs.
53:15Fighting counterfeiting is just not about having a secure note.
53:20It's also about enforcement efforts of the Secret Service.
53:24Counterfeiting is as old as history itself.
53:29All documents get counterfeited in one fashion or another the sooner or later.
53:34I think that the new note is certainly going to help our efforts
53:40in combating counterfeit United States currency,
53:43but it is not going to end it.
54:13From seashells to tea leaves, explore the changing face of currency through the ages.
54:20Tap into Nova Online at pbs.org.
54:23To order this show for $19.95 plus shipping and handling, call 1-800-255-9424.
54:42And to learn more about how science can reveal the truth and solve the mysteries of our world,
54:49ask about our many other Nova videos.
54:55Who's this?
54:56Irene Hildebrandt.
54:58Who would you like to have on your money?
55:01My family, I don't know, my daughter.
55:04If you're making money.
55:05You ask who Irene Hildebrandt is?
55:06Yeah, I'm just kidding.
55:07She was my grandmother.
55:08If your grandmother would be over here, that's nice.
55:10That's nice.
55:11Well, is it nice enough to buy some bags?
55:17Sure, I guess.
55:20You get this.
55:25For a transcript of this or any other Nova program, call 1-800-831-9000.
55:36Nova is a production of WGBH Boston.
55:41Nova is funded by Merck.
55:46Merck, pharmaceutical research.
55:51Dedicated to preventing disease.
55:56Merck, committed to bringing out the best in medicine.
56:01And by Prudential.
56:04Living well isn't about being rich.
56:08It's about freedom and independence and taking control of your future.
56:14So make a plan.
56:16Be your own rock.
56:19By the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.
56:31This is PBS.
56:36Next time on Nova.
56:38It's hot.
56:39It's deadly.
56:40Can we capture its power?
56:42Lightning strikes on Nova.
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