Despite lackluster news on the economic front, the U.S. money situation should start look peachy next month.
On Oct. 9, the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve will begin circulating — both at home and abroad — newly redesigned $20 currency notes.
The change, designed to make it more difficult for counterfeiters, is the first in a series of upgrades that will extend to $50 and $100 denominations over the next 12 to 18 months, according to the Treasury Department.
When the peach-hued notes will begin circulating on U.S. military installations in Europe is uncertain.
“On October 10th, we won’t see all brand-new $20 bills,” said Army Staff Sgt. Gary Kieffer, a spokesman for the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.
Instead, an old $20 “greenback” — soon to become the “peachback” — would be taken out of circulation and replaced as its condition deteriorates. The average circulation life of a $20 bill is about two years, Kieffer said.
The Defense Department has “no plans to make any special shipments” of the new currency, Kieffer said. “As the other ones wear out or are soiled … they will be replaced.”
Community Bank does plan to set up displays in lobbies across the theater, a banking officer said last week. The display, which would include a larger representation of the note, is similar to the effort two years ago to educate customers about the euro.
For more information about the new notes on the Internet, see: www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney.
