flickering pictures

Abe Lincoln notwithstanding, the U.S. five-dollar bill is looking just a little bit more Canadian these days, with a brand new splash of purple to help visually-impaired people distinguish between denominations. It includes new watermarks and an “enhanced security thread,” and the new colour is apparently also meant to foil counterfeiters who’ve run out of red printer ink.

Also, it’ll really bring out the fuchsia in your drapes.

I’m not sure how long it took to come up with this new design — which looks an awful lot like the old one with a big purple “5″ on it — but the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing says it’s about a third of the way through a similar makeover for its $100-bill, and expects to be done in spring 2009. Dusting off my high-school math book, it seems to me that the entire process of re-designing a bill must then take about 18 months — a year and a half of salaries, committee meetings and other expenses to come up with a big purple five. Sometimes I wonder why I turned down that government job…

When a new money design is announced, it seems reasonable to expect something more than a new font colour. Something brave and beautiful. Something like Britain’s new coins, designed through a nationwide contest. Snazzy even on their own, when arranged a certain way the coins combine to make up the Shield of the Royal Arms. This gorgeous innovation is the brainchild of a 26-year-old from North Wales with no previous currency design experience, and all the Royal Mint had to do was hire someone to sift through the 4,000 entries from around the U.K.

Story submitted by Lysanne — thanks!

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