Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 8, 1994 TAG: 9404080111
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The bogus-money problem has become so severe that many overseas banks are refusing to accept $100 bills. A leading terrorist expert said the counterfeit bills, produced in the Middle East by terrorists groups linked to Iran and Syria, could cause serious economic problems, especially for small nations that rely on the U.S. dollar.
While confirming work on a new design, Bureau of Engraving officials were reluctant Thursday to discuss what changes they will recommend, or to link the changes to overseas counterfeiting.
Congressional sources said they had been told the Treasury hopes to announce the proposed changes this month.
Among the ideas said to be under consideration: moving portraits to the side, implanting small holograms on the bills, printing on watermarked paper, using multicolored patterns that are difficult for copiers to reproduce and printing with multicolored inks - all steps other countries have adopted.
One of the most dramatic proposal is from Robert Kupperman, a terrorist expert. He has called for a two-tiered money system - new greenbacks for domestic use and "redbacks" - dollars printed in red - for overseas use.
The Treasury Department has been reluctant to make major changes in the dollar, leaving the United States with what a Secret Service spokeswoman described as "the most stable currency in the world and the most easy to counterfeit."
A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences attacked the Treasury's policy of relying on "traditional deterrents - unique high-quality paper, fine-line engraving and high-pressure intaglio printing" to deter counterfeiters. In a world filled with highly sophisticated color copiers and scanning devices, the academy said, the U.S. needs a high-tech approach to protecting its currency.
by CNB