NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - If you've been waiting to see the redesigned $50 bill, relax. The wait is almost over.
On Monday, April 26, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) will unveil the new-look $50, the latest in a series of currency redesigns over the past few years. The retoolings are part of a larger government effort to thwart counterfeiters.
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| Expect the new $50 to follow the artistic pattern of the new $20 |
The decision to redesign the $50 was made last year, and announced simultaneously with the new $20. Those smaller-denomination bills were released to the public beginning in October 2003.
Dawn Haley, a spokesperson for the BEP, confirmed that the new $50s will be unveiled next week, at a ceremony to be held at a printing plant in Fort Worth, Tex., where the notes will be made. Production will begin this summer, according to Haley, and the new $50s should enter general circulation at the end of September or beginning of October.
Images of the bill won't be available until next week's ceremony. But generally speaking, the bills will follow the aesthetic guidelines set out by the $20.
For example, pastel tones will augment the old green and black color scheme. Ulysses S. Grant will continue to be pictured, but his face will likely appear more prominent, as Andrew Jackson's was on the $20. On the back, the engraving of the Capitol Building may be altered slightly as well.
| Fun Facts about the $50
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| • | Ulysses S. Grant has been on the $50 since 1913.
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| • | The average lifespan of a $50 is five years.
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| • | There are approximately 1.2 billion, or $58.2 billion, $50s in circulation.
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Although colorization is the most immediately visible difference between the new and old bills, other anti-counterfeiting features may be more technologically significant. These include an embedded plastic strip running vertically; a watermark image engrained into the paper itself; and color-shifting ink, whose appearance changes as you tilt the bill against light.
When the $20 was unveiled, the Bureau launched a large, consumer-focused marketing campaign to explain the redesign to the public. The government spent about $12 million in advertising, and arranged product placement deals to insert the bills onto a number of national TV shows, including the game shows "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune," and sporting events aired on ESPN and ABC.
This time, "there will be more of a business-to-business focus to our public education efforts," said Haley. The Bureau is working with vending machine makers and others to ensure a smooth rollout when the new $50s are released in the fall.
When the $20 launched, a snafu arose involving self-service cashiers, those new, do-it-yourself checkout machines. A handful of the machines did not update their optical-recognition software to read the redesigned notes, causing a small, but embarrassing glitch for the BEP.
"The technology was so new, we missed a few," acknowledged Haley.
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