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  • One billion $100 bills hit by printing errors

    One billion $100 bills hit by printing errors

    A printing error has left blank spots on $100 bills in a batch of $110 billion (£70 billion) bank notes, causing a logistical headache for officials who must now weed out unusable bank notes.

    By Jon Swaine, New York 6:02PM GMT 07 Dec 2010

    The problem occurred during the first print run of a newly designed note, which features extra security devices including a holographic ribbon and a metallic inkwell beside the image of Benjamin Franklin.

    A "sporadic creasing of the paper during printing" left blank spots on some notes, which were due to be in circulation by February 10, according to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

    Despite "over a decade of research and development" going into the new design, the problem "was not apparent during extensive pre-production testing", the Bureau said.

    Its officials are now working with staff from Crane and Co, the company that has supplied the US government with the paper used for currency since 1879, to solve the problem.

    Together they must somehow decipher which notes, out of more than a billion, have been blighted by the error and must be destroyed, and which are good for distribution.

    At $110 billion, the notes are thought to be worth more than ten per cent of the US bank notes currently in circulation, which are said to total $930 billion.

    Mark Tomasko, a currency historian who has lectured on bank notes at Princeton University, said: "The Bureau has a real job here – a real challenge."

    Due to its international importance, the production of the $100 bill was "a remarkable printing job to begin with, and possibly the most significant in the world," Mr Tomasko said.

    "The $100 bill also needs to be the most technically advanced note to ensure its security," he added.

    The bills – which cost $120 million to make and are the first $100s to bear the signature of Tim Geithner, the Treasury Secretary – are on hold in vaults in Washington and Texas.

    In the mean time, old-style $100 bills are being produced to ensure sufficient supply.

    Darlene Anderson, a Bureau spokesman, said it was not yet known how many notes were affected. She said claims on US television that 30 per cent may have to be shredded were "inaccurate".

    "We are confident that a very high proportion of the notes will be fit for circulation," she said. "A new issue date for the redesigned $100 note will be issued as soon as possible."
    One billion $100 bills hit by printing errors - Telegraph

    The mint will print older style $100 notes with Hank Paulson's signature rather than Tim Geithner's signature in order to continue with "quantitative easing."

    Words faile me...

    A few that popped into mind are: irony; incompetence; QC; turn the clock back (dem's favorite phrase); and lastly - epic fail!
    Attached Files
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

  • #2
    who says printing money is easy.
    “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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    • #3
      If you can get hold of any they will be worth a lot more than the face value .

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by xinhui View Post
        who says printing money is easy.
        It should be, but then someone got the government involved...
        "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by tankie View Post
          If you can get hold of any they will be worth a lot more than the face value .
          You know i was wonderin' bout that and fired up the calc

          110 billion by 120 million and it works out to $916 / benjamin franklin, I figure you might have been referring to collectible value however.

          Looking at the pic, timmy g's siggy looks fine, where's dem blank spots

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
            You know i was wonderin' bout that and fired up the calc
            I figure you might have been referring to collectible value
            Correct , any money like this , including coins are very collectable m8

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            • #7
              Right, what i can't get my head around is that it appears to cost 9 times to print what a bill is worth, does not make any sense

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                Right, what i can't get my head around is that it appears to cost 9 times to print what a bill is worth, does not make any sense
                I get $9.17 per bill which is rediculous, but certainly less than face value (1.1e9/1.2e8)$ - -110 Billiion $ is the face value of the bills - there are 1.1 Billion notes.
                Last edited by USSWisconsin; 07 Dec 10,, 22:12.
                sigpic"If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
                If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

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                • #9
                  You're right, was not thinking

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by xinhui View Post
                    who says printing money is easy.
                    My wife

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                    • #11
                      You mean money doesn't actually grow on trees?
                      Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

                      Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

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                      • #12
                        This might be a dumb question, but why does it matter that some of the bills have a slight flaw? Just put them into circulation and within a few years they will all be worn out and shredded anyway.

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                        • #13
                          If they let one flawed batch out, their standards are dropped, and the next flawed batch might also be released, and that one could be easier to counterfeit or forge. Hell, even this batch can be counterfeited. Someone can show up with a homemade funky $100 bill. Some mom and pop store owner doesn't know what the flawed bills look like, so they accept the bogus one. That is extremely bad for the Fed, for the mom and pop store, and for the economy in general. Funny money doesn't really help anyone except the forger
                          Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

                          Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

                          Comment

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