Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bittle describes new $20s to Rotarians

Linda Bittle with First State Bank of Gurdon was Rotary's guest speaker on Thursday, September 25, not to mention a member of the Gurdon Rotary Club.

Bittle was in charge of last week's program and chose to talk about the new $20 bills that will be arriving at the bank's on October 9, 2003.

One of the main reasons for the new bills is security purposes. Counterfeiting bills is a federal offense, however, there are still people out there willing to do it.

In an attempt to keep this from happening new bills and designs are printed ever so often.

According to Bittle, the new redesigned currency is safer, smarter and more secure.

The most noticeable difference in the bills will be new background color. Described to be subtle, the colors will be green with peach in the center.

The Federal Reserve System and the Department of the Treasury are committed to continuous improvements in currency design in order to protect the economy and people's hard-earned money. To ensure this, they except to introduce new currency designs every 7-10 years.

Bittle also gave some tips on what to do if people as consumers receive a bill they feel may be a counterfeit.

"If you receive a bill that you suspect may be counterfeit or if you question a note that is already in your possession, turn it over to your local police department or U.S. Secret Service office. If the note is genuine, it will be returned to you as soon as possible. If the note is counterfeit, you will not be reimbursed, but knowingly passing a counterfeit note is against the law," said Bittle.

In the transition period from old to new bills, the currency will undergo subtle changes, however, all new or old bills will be honored to their full face value. There will be no recall or devaluation of any U.S. notes. the United States has never devalued its currency ans will not do so now.

As the new currency is phased in, old notes will be retired by the Federal Reserve System when they are returned through the banking system. this means there is no time limit ir requirement for exchanging a previous series for a new series.