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On October 9, 2003, the Federal Reserve System introduced the public to the redesigned, colorful $20 bill, complete with a new peach background, a blue eagle, and a green tint near the right and left edges. Called the "the most secure U.S. currency ever," the bills were specially designed to confound counterfeiters. After all, the $20 bill is the most counterfeited and second most used bill (after the $1 bill). We couldn't find the exact number of bills that have been circulated, but we did learn that in the month of October alone, plans were for around 1 billion of the "greenbacks" to hit the streets. The government spent over
$32 million promoting the new bill and released only the new $20s throughout October, holding onto older $20 bills until November. The average life of a $20 bill is approximately 2 years, and as the older bills wear out, they will be gradually pulled and replaced with the new bills. The last major redesign of the popular bill came in 1998, when the off-center portrait of Andrew Jackson and plastic thread were added. In order to keep ahead of devious counterfeiters, the government aims to redesign each currency bill every 7-10 years. In 2005, look for colorful versions of the $50 and $100 bills to make
the rounds. While the $5 and $10 may get facelifts in the near future, there are currently no plans to update the $1 or $2 bill, as these lowly denominations are the least popular among counterfeiters. Although many consumers welcome the revamped look of the $20, the feeling is not universal. The new bills were rejected by a number of automated machines that were not programmed to accept them yet.
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