US Embassy Manila announces new $5 bill

MANILA, Philippines – The US government announced yesterday the issuance of redesigned $5 notes with enhanced security features.

The US Embassy in Manila said in a statement that two additional watermarks and an embedded security thread were added to the new $5 notes.

The redesigning of the $5 note is the fourth in the series of changes made on US Federal Reserve notes. The first to undergo changes was the $20 note in 2003, followed by the $50 note in 2004 and the $10 note in 2006.

The salient features of the new $5 note include enlarged and easy-to-read number five on the back of the bill printed in high contrast purple pink; enhanced engravings of President Lincoln’s portrait on the front and of the Lincoln Memorial vignette on the back, both of whose oval borders have been removed; small yellow five printed to the left of the portrait on the front of the bill and to the right of the Lincoln Memorial vignette on the back; light purple in the center of the bill, which blends into gray near the edges.

“Because color can be duplicated, consumers and cash handlers should use the key security features on the new $5 bill – the watermarks and security thread – not color, to check the authenticity of paper money,” the US Embassy statement said. The new $5 notes will have no effect on $5 notes currently in circulation.

“As is the case with all currency designs, both the new notes and old notes always maintain their full face value,” the embassy said. – Pia Lee-Brago