New $100 bills should arrive in Costa Rica soon

October 9^th, 2013 (VOA & InsideCostaRica.com) The U.S. on Tuesday unveiled a new $100 bill, a note that still will show touches of long-standing tradition, but also will carry new markers in an attempt to thwart counterfeiters.

It won’t take long for the new bills to reach Costa Rica, as international arrivals of tourists from the U.S. begin carrying the notes with them.

Like the current greenish $100 bill, the new version will bear the likeness of Benjamin Franklin, a leader in the American Revolution more than two centuries ago.
But it will also have a vertical blue security ribbon that shows “100″ and small pictures of the iconic Liberty Bell in darker blue.

Next to Franklin’s portrait is a tan quill and bronze-color inkwell, with the Liberty Bell drawn inside.   The bell’s color changes depending on what angle the bill is held at.

Government officials say the new note was designed primarily to combat increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting, although the older ones in circulation will continue to be honored.

The $100 bill is the most global bank note the U.S. prints, with one-half to two-thirds of the more than 8 billion in circulation in use outside the United States.