Money is weird. We carry it, spend it, and occasionally obsess over it, but how often do you actually stare at a C-note? If you look closely at a 100 US dollar picture, you aren't just looking at "dead presidents." You are looking at one of the most complex pieces of functional art ever printed. It is a dense, multilayered defense system designed to stay one step ahead of North Korean state-sponsored hackers and local guys with high-end Inkjets. Honestly, the current design of the "Benjamin" is so packed with tech that it’s closer to a software patch than a piece of paper.
The Federal Reserve doesn't just change the look of the money for fun. The last major overhaul, which started circulating back in 2013, was a massive logistical headache that took years of R&D to pull off. It had to be. In the world of high-stakes currency, if you aren't moving forward, you’re already compromised.
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The blue ribbon that isn't actually printed
Look at any high-resolution 100 US dollar picture and your eye goes straight to that 3D Security Ribbon. It’s blue. It’s bold. And here is the kicker: it’s not printed on the paper. It is woven into the paper fibers.
If you tilt the note, you’ll see the little bells change to 100s. They move. When you tilt it back and forth, they move up and down. Tilt it side to side? They move horizontally. This is possible because of hundreds of thousands of micro-lenses. It’s a feat of micro-engineering that most people just glaze over while paying for groceries. It’s basically a low-tech hologram that requires high-tech manufacturing to produce. You can’t just scan that. A copier sees a flat image, but the human eye sees depth. That’s the whole point.
Most of us just feel for the "raised printing" on Ben Franklin’s shoulder. That’s the intaglio printing process. It gives the bill that distinct, sandpaper-like texture that counterfeiters struggle to replicate without expensive, heavy-duty presses. If a bill feels smooth like a flyer you’d find on your windshield, it's a fake. Period.
Franklin’s face and the "Big Head" era
Benjamin Franklin has been the face of the hundred since 1914. Why? He wasn't a president. But he was a polymath, a printer, and a diplomat. More importantly, his face is incredibly difficult to draw perfectly.
In the mid-90s, the US Treasury moved away from the small, centered portraits to the "large head" format. They also moved him slightly off-center. This wasn't a stylistic choice to make him look more "modern" or whatever. Moving the portrait created more room for a watermark and prevented the bill from being folded in ways that could easily hide security flaws. If you look at a 100 US dollar picture from the 1980s versus now, the difference is jarring. The old ones look like play money. The new one looks like a sophisticated document.
The watermark is another layer. Hold a bill up to the light. You should see a faint image of Franklin in the blank space to the right of the portrait. It’s visible from both sides. If that watermark is printed on the surface instead of embedded in the paper, it’s a wrap. It’s a fake.
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The ink that changes color like a mood ring
In the bottom right corner of the note, there is a large "100." In a genuine 100 US dollar picture, that 100 shifts from copper to green. The same thing happens with the Bell in the Inkwell.
This is OVI—Optically Variable Ink.
It is incredibly expensive stuff. Most small-time counterfeiters can’t get their hands on it, and even if they do, getting the color shift to match the specific shades of the US Treasury is nearly impossible. The bell inside the copper inkwell vanishes and reappears as you tilt the bill. It's a "now you see it, now you don't" trick that serves as a primary verification tool for bank tellers who only have three seconds to check a bill.
Microprinting: The detail you can't see
You probably need a magnifying glass for this part. Or a really, really good camera.
Around Franklin’s jacket collar, there are tiny words: "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." On the blank space where the watermark sits, there is "USA 100." Along the golden quill, there is more microprinting.
To a standard desktop printer, these aren't words. They are just blurry lines. The precision required to ink these letters so they are sharp and legible under 10x magnification is what separates the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from some guy in a basement. It is the ultimate "gotcha" for low-quality fakes.
Why the paper isn't actually paper
If you accidentally leave a hundred in your jeans and it goes through the wash, it survives. Try that with a piece of notebook paper.
US currency "paper" is actually a blend of 75% cotton and 25% linen. That’s why it has that specific "snap" when you crisp it between your fingers. It’s also why it has those tiny red and blue security fibers scattered throughout. Some people think those are just lint or dirt. Nope. They are synthetic fibers embedded in the pulp.
Counterfeiters sometimes try to draw these on with fine-tip pens. It never looks right. If you use a counterfeit detector pen—the kind that looks like a yellow highlighter—it’s reacting to the starch in wood-based paper. Real bills don't have starch. The pen stays yellow. On fake paper, it turns dark blue or black.
The "Supernote" problem
We can't talk about a 100 US dollar picture without talking about the Supernote. For years, highly sophisticated counterfeits—allegedly from North Korea—circulated globally. These weren't your average fakes. They used the same paper, the same ink, and the same plates. They were so good they could fool some older sorting machines at banks.
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This is exactly why the 2013 redesign happened. The US had to make the bill so physically complex that even a nation-state with a printing press would find it too expensive or difficult to copy. The blue 3D ribbon was the "silver bullet" against the Supernote.
Checking your own cash
If you find yourself holding a C-note and something feels "off," don't just shrug it off.
- The Tilt Test: Check the 3D ribbon and the color-shifting 100. If they don't move or change color, you’re holding a piece of paper worth zero dollars.
- The Light Test: Hold it to the sun. Look for the watermark and the security thread (the vertical strip that says USA 100). That thread actually glows pink under UV light.
- The Touch Test: Run your fingernail along Ben's shoulder. It should feel rough.
Knowing what a real 100 US dollar picture looks like is about more than just trivia. It’s financial literacy. In a world where digital payments are king, physical cash has become a high-tech relic that still carries the weight of the global economy.
Actionable Steps for Handling Currency
- Invest in a UV light: If you run a business, don't rely on the pens. A small UV flashlight will instantly reveal the security thread in seconds.
- Learn the "feel": Spend a moment touching a known-good bill. Your "finger memory" is often better at spotting a fake than your eyes.
- Compare notes: If you have two bills and one looks slightly larger or the colors are "muddy," one is likely a counterfeit. Real bills have incredibly consistent color profiles.
- Contact the Secret Service: If you do end up with a fake, don't try to spend it. That's a felony. Hand it over to the police or the Secret Service. You won't get your $100 back, but you'll stay out of a jail cell.