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Posted 12/01/2014 01:26 am
Hi ejs54,
You seem to be pretty interested in the Meaningful Access program that the Treasury and BEP are launching, starting in 2020 (possibly 2019 even, I think) just as I am.
Anyway, redesigning both, the $1 and $2 bills does make sense logically, due to the fact that, if a counterfeiter wanted, they could bleach a current $1 or $2 bill, and print a pre-1990 series $5-$100 bill on the genuine currency paper and say they got it from their grandparent's stash, as no pre-1990 U.S. Federal Reserve note (or other U.S. banknote, I doubt) had any security features on them. I believe that the post-1990 $50 and $100 bills featured micro-printing and in the Series 1995 was when they started putting security threads in $5-$100 FRNs and there were even talks in a Coin World magazine I read when I was a kid, where they were discussing just where, they were going to locate the security thread in the $1 bill, if they decided to add one (not sure if they were considering a security thread in the $2 bill as well, as the $2 was not mentioned) But anyway, a bleached $1 or $2 bill with a printed over $100 bill, would also evade the pen test. Therefore, I believe that the $1 bill should get at least, a watermark of some type, a security thread, and a tint of background color, if no redesign, as long as this did not mess with the vending machine acceptance, and the $2 bill should get the complete redesign, due to the fact that the current $1 and $2 bill look a lot alike and can be confusing in dark areas, if you are carrying a few $1s and $2s on you. A unique $2 bill, with the same amount of security features, I believe, is a good idea.
As for the average lifespan of the $2 bill, I had a bank quote me "34 years" and I can believe it, due to the $2 bill's lack of circulation.
One more thing (and I'm probably going to get creamed for this by other members here, but) since you were in the vending industry, do you have any idea on if vending machines can be retooled to accept half dollar coins? I mean, were vending machines made to recognize halves as an acceptable denomination, or, was the half dollar denomination left out of the vending machines' programming? (Speaking of which, when they were first talking about making the new golden dollar coins, they almost wanted them to have a different magnetic signature from the half and the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, to prevent people from somehow, cutting down halves into dollar coin size and using them as such. But then, I also heard that a cut down half would not weigh properly like a dollar coin, so it would not work, so I don't know what's true. But anyway, I have had people on these boards, and a couple coin mechanism companies "claim" that all machines are capable of accepting halves, but the vending industry would not go through the expense, for a coin that is rarely used. However, if machines, such as self checkouts at stores dispensed halves, dollar coins and $2 bills, they would circulate. I have been told by a manager at a local Meijer store near me that they will be needing new self checkouts soon, so I told him to make sure it was the type of machine that accepts halves, because their current machines do not. I am thinking that all newer self checkouts will be the ones that accept halves, like the newer machines at my local Walmart, but that is just my guess, and I would hope that, if they have to go through the trouble of retooling their new self checkouts to dispense dollar coins (and possibly $2 bills) when or if the $1 bill is eliminated from circulation that they would also take the time to make the adjustment to the machines so they would dispense halves as well, to get halves into the hands of consumers. Then, maybe the vending industry will retool for halves, and maybe soon after the $1 bill goes, I hope every machine is also adjusted for a new U.S. $2 coin. Besides, isn't it about time in this day and age, we start worrying about large denomination coins like the quarter, half, $1 and possibly a $2 coin?
You seem to be pretty interested in the Meaningful Access program that the Treasury and BEP are launching, starting in 2020 (possibly 2019 even, I think) just as I am.
Anyway, redesigning both, the $1 and $2 bills does make sense logically, due to the fact that, if a counterfeiter wanted, they could bleach a current $1 or $2 bill, and print a pre-1990 series $5-$100 bill on the genuine currency paper and say they got it from their grandparent's stash, as no pre-1990 U.S. Federal Reserve note (or other U.S. banknote, I doubt) had any security features on them. I believe that the post-1990 $50 and $100 bills featured micro-printing and in the Series 1995 was when they started putting security threads in $5-$100 FRNs and there were even talks in a Coin World magazine I read when I was a kid, where they were discussing just where, they were going to locate the security thread in the $1 bill, if they decided to add one (not sure if they were considering a security thread in the $2 bill as well, as the $2 was not mentioned) But anyway, a bleached $1 or $2 bill with a printed over $100 bill, would also evade the pen test. Therefore, I believe that the $1 bill should get at least, a watermark of some type, a security thread, and a tint of background color, if no redesign, as long as this did not mess with the vending machine acceptance, and the $2 bill should get the complete redesign, due to the fact that the current $1 and $2 bill look a lot alike and can be confusing in dark areas, if you are carrying a few $1s and $2s on you. A unique $2 bill, with the same amount of security features, I believe, is a good idea.
As for the average lifespan of the $2 bill, I had a bank quote me "34 years" and I can believe it, due to the $2 bill's lack of circulation.
One more thing (and I'm probably going to get creamed for this by other members here, but) since you were in the vending industry, do you have any idea on if vending machines can be retooled to accept half dollar coins? I mean, were vending machines made to recognize halves as an acceptable denomination, or, was the half dollar denomination left out of the vending machines' programming? (Speaking of which, when they were first talking about making the new golden dollar coins, they almost wanted them to have a different magnetic signature from the half and the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, to prevent people from somehow, cutting down halves into dollar coin size and using them as such. But then, I also heard that a cut down half would not weigh properly like a dollar coin, so it would not work, so I don't know what's true. But anyway, I have had people on these boards, and a couple coin mechanism companies "claim" that all machines are capable of accepting halves, but the vending industry would not go through the expense, for a coin that is rarely used. However, if machines, such as self checkouts at stores dispensed halves, dollar coins and $2 bills, they would circulate. I have been told by a manager at a local Meijer store near me that they will be needing new self checkouts soon, so I told him to make sure it was the type of machine that accepts halves, because their current machines do not. I am thinking that all newer self checkouts will be the ones that accept halves, like the newer machines at my local Walmart, but that is just my guess, and I would hope that, if they have to go through the trouble of retooling their new self checkouts to dispense dollar coins (and possibly $2 bills) when or if the $1 bill is eliminated from circulation that they would also take the time to make the adjustment to the machines so they would dispense halves as well, to get halves into the hands of consumers. Then, maybe the vending industry will retool for halves, and maybe soon after the $1 bill goes, I hope every machine is also adjusted for a new U.S. $2 coin. Besides, isn't it about time in this day and age, we start worrying about large denomination coins like the quarter, half, $1 and possibly a $2 coin?
