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New $20 hits the streets
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September 24, 1998: 7:50 a.m. ET
New bill, aimed at deterring counterfeiters, goes into circulation
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Although there's little doubt President Clinton would welcome a new image, it's Andrew Jackson that's getting a makeover.
The seventh U.S. president's look has changed on the new $20 bill put into circulation Thursday by the U.S. Treasury Department.
The redesigned Series 1996 $20 note, aimed at curbing counterfeiting, is the third U.S. currency note to get a makeover with new and modified security features, including an enlarged off-center portrait, a watermark and fine-line printing patterns.
The changes are targeted at protecting the nation's currency as advanced computer technologies become more readily available, making counterfeiting easier.
The traditional $20 note, of which about $88 billion worth are in circulation, is the most counterfeited note in the United States.
The new note, like the redesigned $50 note before it, includes a machine-readable capability intended to facilitate the development of scanning devices for the blind. A large dark numeral on a light background is also intended to aid visually-impaired Americans.
If you don't like the new look, you have a little time to adjust.
The new $20 is replacing its predecessor gradually. Unlike the introduction of new $100 and $50 notes in 1996 and 1997 respectively, older $20 notes still in good condition will be recirculated.
But expect more currency changes ahead.
Plans to redesign the country's lower denominations are underway. New $10 and $5 notes eventually will be issued, as well as a "modestly redesigned" $1 note. 
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Treasury Department
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