Studio 23 threw its hat into the ring in the 2010 Dollar Redesign Competition. If you could redesign the United States currency, what would it look like? There’s much more to consider than meets the eye. Who do you put on today’s currency? How do you protect it? How do you make it accessible to everyone? And how can you do all of this without increasing the federal deficit?
Today, America is a diverse country and we wanted to represent prominent individuals of diverse backgrounds that helped shape our country. Since the dollar is used internationally, the value of the currency is written clearly in multiple languages on each bill. This also aids visitors to the U.S. as well as residents who don’t speak English. The stars below the currency amounts would be raised in braille to aide the visually impaired. There would be many anti-counterfeiting measures including watermarks, color-shifting inks, microprinting and the like. In addition, to the right of the bill’s serial number is a line reading, “verify this bill at BillTrust.gov.” Bills could be tracked and verified through the use of optical scanners, or even webcams and cellphone cams. In addition, second graders from around the country could learn more about the U.S. by using the site’s bill tracking component. Fifth graders could go online and read about each of the featured individuals, learning about their particular contribution to America.
Finally, a small area on the bill would be reserved for a promotional space—the revenue generated from such a sale would more than offset the annual expenditure of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Instead of costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year, the Bureau would become a source of income for the federal government. In that respect, making this money could really make some money.
Note: this is not legal tender.
