She came all the way from Washington, D.C., to show off the nation's newest money.
But the biggest thing 175 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders at Clifton Elementary School wanted to know from U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow on Wednesday was this: Has she ever met the president? And how close does she work to the White House?
After answering those queries (yes, and next door), Ms. Withrow showed the students the United States' newly redesigned $100 and $50 bills and explained why the country's cash needed a make-over. "The technology today is so sophisticated that some people find it quite easy to counterfeit money," said Ms. Withrow, whose trip was arranged to raise awareness about the value of savings bonds. "We need to stay one step ahead."
The redesigned currency has several security measures treasury leaders hope will foil counterfeiters, Ms. Withrow said.
People who try to duplicate cash on a color-copier will get distorted copies. Fifty- and 100-dollar bills have color-shifting ink. And the bills have a security thread that appears under ultraviolet light.
As part of the redesign, the U.S. Mint soon will produce a gold coin (gold in color, not content) worth $1; it will replace the Susan B. Anthony dollars that likely will fall out of circulation by 2000. The U.S. Mint also will issue commemorative quarters next year bearing states' insignias. Five quarters a year - or one every 10 weeks - will be produced in the order the states joined the union. Ohio and Kentucky quarters will appear in 2002, and Indiana, in 2001.
Ms. Withrow's visit - as well as the $50 and $100 bills she casually carried - impressed some of her listeners.
"I want to be treasurer, because I would like to have my name on money," said fifth-grader Nicole Lewis, 11, referring to the redesigned bills, which bear Ms. Withrow's signature.
Agreed Jasmine Powell, 10, a fourth-grader: "I want to be treasurer so I can meet Bill Clinton."
