Gradually, the American authorities have updated half of the dollar bill series. Following the $20 and $50 bills, which were issued in 2003 and 2004 respectively, on March 2 the new ten-dollar bill began circulating. Following it, the $100 bill will be updated. The American authorities, according to their own statements, do not yet have plans to update the dollar "small change" denominations of $5, $2, and $1.
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the size of the ten-dollar bills has not changed: it remains 156x67 mm with a possible small margin of error. The banknote has, on both the front and back, a line pattern across the entire field with a smooth color transition, beautifully called an "iris roll" – from orange at the edges to light yellow in the middle. In addition to the main yellow color, the paper of the new bills contains a large number of randomly arranged security fibers of red and blue.
As on the old ten-dollar bills, the front of the banknote features a portrait of Alexander Hamilton – shifted to the left of center, without an oval frame. To the left of the portrait, a line drawing of a bowl with a flame is rendered in thin red lines. On the left side of the portrait is the black seal of the U.S. Federal Reserve System.
To the right of Hamilton's portrait is another seal – that of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (green) against the background of the text "TEN" (ten) and "WE THE PEOPLE". Above this inscription is the text "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", and in the upper left and lower right parts of the banknote is the serial number. In the lower left corner of the banknote is the year of issue, and in the lower left and right parts of the banknote one can find the signatures of the Treasurer and the Secretary of the Treasury.
The back of the banknote depicts the U.S. Department of the Treasury building without an oval frame, below it the small inscription "U.S. TREASURY" and the large "TEN DOLLARS".
The new banknotes will be protected by a watermark located on the right side of the banknote (this mark repeats Hamilton's portrait in reduced form), as well as microprinting on the front of the banknote. The microprinting is located along the contour of the bowl with fire in the lower part of the image. Also, as protection against counterfeiting, a security thread visible when held to the light has been introduced into the paper of the banknote to the right of the portrait, with the repeating text "USA 10" and an image of the U.S. flag. Another security measure is that the number 10 in the lower right corner of the front side is printed with ink that changes color from copper to green when the banknote is tilted.
Let us recall that the U.S. government announced that it will update its treasury notes every seven to ten years. The appearance of American money has changed more than 12 times since 1785. They became the familiar green color in 1926, but since 2003 the U.S. government has been gradually introducing colored banknotes into circulation.
It should be noted that the time limit for exchanging old money for new is, as before, unlimited.