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spatterson · May 1, 2004, 10:07 AM

I was watching the news this morning and saw a spot about the new $50 bill. It�s so damn ugly! It�s like there are a bunch of people designing these bills without any experience with art or graphic design.

Lets start with the back of the bill... You can see the US Capitol building with the background feathered into the bill. Yellow 50's surround the picture for reasons I don't know. In the corners there are currency numbers and are printed with 3 different fonts. WTF�

The front of the bill would look ok if the stars and stripes were removed. It really looks second-rate with the stars and flag. They don't fit in with the rest of the bill design.

I have to say that this is the worst looking bill I have ever seen out of any currency. I rather use monopoly money. Has anyone seen the EURO� they are beautiful. The US Treasury should take notes from those guys� When I lived in Germany I loved using the Euro�

http://www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney...currency/new50

Developer · May 1, 2004, 10:11 AM

It's not all about design. There are security features that need to be integrated into the banknote.

The Euro banknotes were designed by an Austrian.

dlefebvre · May 1, 2004, 10:27 AM

If you can't stand it, I can help you. Send all your ugly $50 bill to me.

OwlBoy · May 1, 2004, 10:49 AM

I think it is cool that we are getting colored money and all...

-Owl

d4nth3m4n · May 1, 2004, 10:53 AM

whatever money is money, im just wondering when the US will hop on the descending bill size bandwagon. THAT is a good idea.

voodoo · May 1, 2004, 10:55 AM

I think it is mega cool! Looks solid and nice you're finally getting color on your money

About time eh?

spatterson · May 1, 2004, 11:05 AM

Originally posted by voodoo:
I think it is mega cool! Looks solid and nice you're finally getting color on your money

About time eh?

There are too many styles on this note. I like the portraits on the bill... They look good, but I would take 5 steps back and redesign the whole thing. Maybe some white paper, I like colored money... but it needs to be in good taste. The current design looks as if it was created with some MS Word clip art. When they introduced the new bills a few years back the looked awesome� Now they are adding elements that take away from the professional look of the bill. I would like to see some kind of hologram with our flag in that. I think that would look really cool. Our money is our pride.... so lets put some work into it. It represents our country, and I think this bill looks sub-standard.

voodoo · May 1, 2004, 11:14 AM

Originally posted by spatterson:
There are too many styles on this note. I like the portraits on the bill... They look good, but I would take 5 steps back and redesign the whole thing. Maybe some white paper, I like colored money... but it needs to be in good taste. The current design looks as if it was created with some MS Word clip art. When they introduced the new bills a few years back the looked awesome� Now they are adding elements that take away from the professional look of the bill. I would like to see some kind of hologram with our flag in that. I think that would look really cool. Our money is our pride.... so lets put some work into it. It represents our country, and I think this bill looks sub-standard.

Well, I've not seen the new $50 up close so I have to admit that it may look crowded 'in the flesh'. The thumbnails look good and Ulysses always looks good

ryju · May 1, 2004, 11:43 AM

I like the recent Canadian bills out now, especially the $5 bill with the hockey players!

wdlove · May 1, 2004, 11:54 AM

I doubt that I will ever actually physically have the $50 bill.

I actually like the look of the new bill, a nice change from all green.

voodoo · May 1, 2004, 11:59 AM

Originally posted by wdlove:
I doubt that I will ever actually physically have the $50 bill.

Why? Isn't it in circulation yet?

Eug Wanker · May 1, 2004, 12:04 PM

Anything is an improvement on the old US bills.

Socially Awkward Solo · May 1, 2004, 12:14 PM

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
Anything is an improvement on the old US bills.

Well old US money is some of the ugliest in the world and the new one still seems to keep the crown.

SamuraiDL · May 1, 2004, 12:16 PM

I like it, grant looks like hes on acid.

djohnson · May 1, 2004, 12:21 PM

Looks good to me! I will have to pick at least a few up just to keep.

spatterson · May 1, 2004, 12:33 PM

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
Well old US money is some of the ugliest in the world and the new one still seems to keep the crown.

Here here!!!

MaxPower2k3 · May 1, 2004, 12:37 PM

yeah, i never really liked the new bill designs. they reminded me too much of monopoly money. The color 20s look okay on the front, but pretty stupid on the back with all of the little yellow '20's... looks like some little kid with a rubber stamp went a little overboard.

Rev-O · May 1, 2004, 01:04 PM

Originally posted by spatterson:
There are too many styles on this note. I like the portraits on the bill... They look good, but I would take 5 steps back and redesign the whole thing. Maybe some white paper, I like colored money... but it needs to be in good taste. The current design looks as if it was created with some MS Word clip art. When they introduced the new bills a few years back the looked awesome� Now they are adding elements that take away from the professional look of the bill. I would like to see some kind of hologram with our flag in that. I think that would look really cool. Our money is our pride.... so lets put some work into it. It represents our country, and I think this bill looks sub-standard.

Holograms would be good, and will prolly be introduced before too long, as I think the treasury dept. has given all paper currency around a 10 year life span (maybe a bit less) before redesigning.

White paper, however, would only benefit counterfitters. The texture, weight, and color of the paper used in the currency is one of the more difficult things to duplicate. Unfortunately, we US citizens aren't that savy to this.

fireside · May 1, 2004, 01:35 PM

Originally posted by Rev-O:
Holograms would be good, and will prolly be introduced before too long, as I think the treasury dept. has given all paper currency around a 10 year life span (maybe a bit less) before redesigning.

not gonna happen on US money until the way to stick the holograms becomes better. US has very very strict standards on the literal strength of the money, i hear they do all sorts of tests to see what you can do to it before it falls apart. unfortunately, holograms on bills in other countries haven't really been sticking to well.

mitchell_pgh · May 1, 2004, 01:39 PM

There was red in some of our bank notes a long time ago... but it was only the lettering or something...

I like the notes, they keep the traditional while implementing the futuristic...

Frisbee · May 1, 2004, 01:44 PM

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
whatever money is money, im just wondering when the US will hop on the descending bill size bandwagon. THAT is a good idea.

You mean where the bill gets bigger as the value goes up? That is the worst idea, ever.

CharlesS · May 1, 2004, 01:52 PM

Originally posted by dlefebvre:
If you can't stand it, I can help you. Send all your ugly $50 bill to me.

dlefebvre · May 1, 2004, 01:55 PM

Originally posted by Frisbee:
You mean where the bill gets bigger as the value goes up? That is the worst idea, ever.

I strongly agree.

Krypton · May 1, 2004, 02:45 PM

Originally posted by Frisbee:
You mean where the bill gets bigger as the value goes up? That is the worst idea, ever.

I'm sure this has been debated before, but having all your paper money the same size makes it prone to fraud - i.e. just bleach low value notes and print high value on them.

Every country apart from the US does this. So why are you opposed? It's also a good idea for the blind too.

Severed Hand of Skywalker · May 1, 2004, 02:49 PM

this looks like Monopoly money that got wet and sat in the sun:

Personally, I have always loved Canadian Money. It is coloured well and easy to read.
http://members.rogers.com/dougyb/sample_bills.htm

tooki · May 1, 2004, 03:13 PM

Originally posted by MaxPower2k3:
yeah, i never really liked the new bill designs. they reminded me too much of monopoly money. The color 20s look okay on the front, but pretty stupid on the back with all of the little yellow '20's... looks like some little kid with a rubber stamp went a little overboard.

Heh, yeah.

But they're not random, and they're not there for aesthetic reasons: it's digital watermarking to prevent digital counterfeiting. It's actually the circles that form the watermark, and the same pattern can be found on all recent new currencies, such as the Euro (where the circles are hidden in a fake constellation), in the last Deutschmarks, and British pound notes (where the circles are hidden as musical notes).

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EURion_constellation. It contains the link to a PDF with examples.

Adobe Photoshop CS will not open any file with this watermarking. PS CS contains a "little black box" from the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group. Adobe doesn't actually know how it works. Other programs contain the black box as well, but Photoshop is the only Mac program I am aware of that has it.

tooki

d4nth3m4n · May 1, 2004, 03:33 PM

Originally posted by Krypton:
I'm sure this has been debated before, but having all your paper money the same size makes it prone to fraud - i.e. just bleach low value notes and print high value on them.

Every country apart from the US does this. So why are you opposed? It's also a good idea for the blind too.

exactly where i was going with what i said. i like being able to look quick and see what im grabbing. work well in the dark.

Link · May 1, 2004, 04:08 PM

Let's all pretend we're a bunch of europeeings and make fun of the US right now.

Ha ha ha... wait it isn't so funny.

voodoo · May 1, 2004, 04:12 PM

Originally posted by Link:
Let's all pretend we're a bunch of europeeings and make fun of the US right now.

Ha ha ha... wait it isn't so funny.

"That's Yurp? Better fix my tie for them Yurpeans. They care about such things."

d4nth3m4n · May 1, 2004, 04:45 PM

Originally posted by voodoo:

"That's Yurp? Better fix my tie for them Yurpeans. They care about such things."

BWAHAHAHA! great pic.

Socially Awkward Solo · May 1, 2004, 10:42 PM

Originally posted by Link:
Let's all pretend we're a bunch of europeeings and make fun of the US right now.

Ha ha ha... wait it isn't so funny.

You don't have to be "europeeings" to know the US is not perfect. Nobody is.

The fact is the US money is some of the ugliest in the world.

Zimphire · May 1, 2004, 10:45 PM

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
this looks like Monopoly money that got wet and sat in the sun:

Personally, I have always loved Canadian Money. It is coloured well and easy to read.
http://members.rogers.com/dougyb/sample_bills.htm

Ugh, looks like something from a bad sci fi movie

Zimphire · May 1, 2004, 10:48 PM

I like the watermarks.

A bit of the old, mixed in with the new.

Classy.

NYCFarmboy · 11:00 PM

I just wish the paper money in the USA was color coded.

The designs are bland, but what really makes them just awful is the similarity and uniformity of design.

I was especially dissapointed to see the new 50's background paper color is similar to the new 20. The goal of the treasury is apparently just to thwart the counterfit community, and all we are getting is a new set of currancy designs that are very user-unfriendly.

I like the color and size coding of the Euro. The designs are bland, but at least you can easily tell them apart by glancing....without having to actually carefully look at each bill like you have to now with US currency.

im_noahselby · May 2, 2004, 12:01 AM

Here is a video that shows some Canadian paper money and all the security features embedded into them. Notice how many security features are in our new $100 bill! Amazing...

http://qtp01sea.activate.net/actcana...rr-128k-en.mov

http://www.cdnpapermoney.com/English/BoC/2004_100.htm (Front & back pic of our new $100 bill)

Noah

Socially Awkward Solo · May 2, 2004, 12:05 AM

Set your faces to stunned.

Zimphire hates Canadian money and likes the American money.

Socially Awkward Solo · May 2, 2004, 12:08 AM

Originally posted by NYCFarmboy:
I just wish the paper money in the USA was color coded.

The designs are bland, but what really makes them just awful is the similarity and uniformity of design.

I was especially dissapointed to see the new 50's background paper color is similar to the new 20. The goal of the treasury is apparently just to thwart the counterfit community, and all we are getting is a new set of currancy designs that are very user-unfriendly.

I like the color and size coding of the Euro. The designs are bland, but at least you can easily tell them apart by glancing....without having to actually carefully look at each bill like you have to now with US currency.

Bingo. The same colour for everything is a ridiculous thing to do. It is also incredibly bland. It looks like it was designed by Microsoft.

mitchell_pgh · May 2, 2004, 12:23 AM

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
Bingo. The same colour for everything is a ridiculous thing to do. It is also incredibly bland. It looks like it was designed by Microsoft.

Ridiculous? Just because the US makes everything the same size and same color doesn't make it any better or worse then any other country. Perhaps the US likes to have consistency in their money.

Also, the new $20s and up use more security features then just about any country in the world. If you can't tell a fake, you aren't looking.

Socially Awkward Solo · May 2, 2004, 12:34 AM

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
Ridiculous? Just because the US makes everything the same size and same color doesn't make it any better or worse then any other country. Perhaps the US likes to have consistency in their money.

Same size is a good thing, same colour is stupid as hell.

Tulkas · May 2, 2004, 12:46 AM

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
Ridiculous? Just because the US makes everything the same size and same color doesn't make it any better or worse then any other country. Perhaps the US likes to have consistency in their money.

Also, the new $20s and up use more security features then just about any country in the world. If you can't tell a fake, you aren't looking.

Reminds me of the simpsons: "Our health-care system is the best in the world... after canada, australia, all of europe.."

mitchell_pgh · May 2, 2004, 01:09 AM

Originally posted by Tulkas:
Reminds me of the simpsons: "Our health-care system is the best in the world... after canada, australia, all of europe.."

SamuraiDL · May 2, 2004, 01:27 AM

did any one notice the thread is spelled Mann?

MindFad · May 2, 2004, 01:33 AM

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
Set your faces to stunned.

Zimphire hates Canadian money and likes the American money.

Zim, this is the one time I will allow you to post the stupid kettle picture. Please do.

Brien · May 2, 2004, 03:52 AM

Who wants to bet Uncle Pennybags is on the $100?

Zimphire · May 2, 2004, 10:11 AM

Originally posted by Socially Awkward Solo:
Set your faces to stunned.

Zimphire hates Canadian money and likes the American money.

Set your faces to stunned.

SWF hates American money and likes the Canada money.

I never said I HATED IT. I said I disliked that particular one.

The rest is ok.

Zimphire · May 2, 2004, 10:12 AM

Originally posted by MindFad:
Zim, this is the one time I will allow you to post the stupid kettle picture. Please do.

Heh, yes I noticed that as well.

kmkkid · May 2, 2004, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by Zimphire:
Ugh, looks like something from a bad sci fi movie

It's not that dark of a red. It's a pinkish red in real life.

Chris

Zimphire · May 2, 2004, 11:59 AM

I wasn't really commenting on the color, but the over all look.

Willy looks like a mix between Shatner and Big Brother from 1984.

I also dislike how they cut him off at the chest, without nothing to "support" him underneath. It's bad design.

m_young · May 2, 2004, 02:03 PM

Why do we spend all this money putting new features in the new bills, when people can continue to make and spend counterfeit old ones? What incentive is there to counterfeit a new 50 with all the new features, when I can still make the old one?

kmkkid · May 2, 2004, 02:43 PM

Originally posted by m_young:
Why do we spend all this money putting new features in the new bills, when people can continue to make and spend counterfeit old ones? What incentive is there to counterfeit a new 50 with all the new features, when I can still make the old one?

Because they phase out the old money, it just takes time.

Here in Canada your beginning to see all new 5's and 10's as the old ones are replaced. It only took about 2 years too.

Chris