Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Here's The New $100 Bill And Its HIDDEN MEANINGS
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 8, 2013
Modified Oct 8, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 8, 2013
Modified Oct 8, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A newly designed $100 bill debuts today. For those of us who only glimpse such denominations when grandma's feeling generous or in the bathroom at Dorsia, here is a photo of the very European-looking bill. Note that Benjamin Franklin is no longer surrounded by his trusty oval, and check out all the GOLD!
The right side of the bill features a gold inkwell, a gold liberty bell, a gold feather pen, and the number 100 that changes from green to gold. CNN reports that the new bill has several facets intended to thwart counterfeiters:
Those measures include a blue, 3-D security ribbon, as well as color-shifting ink that changes from copper to green when the note is tilted. That ink can be found on a large "100" on the back of the bill, on one of the "100's" on the front, and on a new image of an ink well that's also on the front.
Here's a cool 3-D interactive graphic that lets you see how the new bill changes when tilted and put under different light. CBS News reports that each bill costs around 4 cents more to produce than the old ones, costing taxpayers an extra $100 million a year to produce.
Media outlets are calling the color "copper," but don't be fooled—isn't it INTERESTING that all this gold appears on a new bill right when the federal government is secretly poised to return to the gold standard? And that the bill features an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence about "the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government"? Let one of those self-described "Conspiracy Nuts" explain the new note's hidden meaning:
The new $100's were going to be released on Feb 10, 2011 but the Federal Reserve announced a "delay due to production problems". Why wait so long? In this video it sure looks like they are in full production already...
Oh, did you notice that the bill in all the sample photos was printed in "SERIES 2009"? I believe that the new $100's are ready to go and HAVE BEEN READY SINCE THE ONSET OF THE CREDIT CRISIS! They were waiting for the crash and the return to a gold standard. With this announcement they might as well say ...WE ARE READY TO COLLAPSE THE SYSTEM!!
And let's not forget that in 1933 FDR was nearly taken out by a fascist coup when he dropped the gold standard, infuriating Prescott Bush and a cabal of wealthy American captains of industry.
Anyway, the boring old Benjamins will still be honored, so no need to stack them in a huge pile and set them ablaze. Unless you're into that sort of thing:
Tagged
100 bill
benjamin frankling
gold standard
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .