New $20 Bill

Updated July 10, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

The U.S. Treasury adopted a new design for the $20 dollar bill in fall 2003. The new bill incorporates security features introduced in the 1990s, including a watermark and a security thread—both visible when the bill is held up to the light—and color shifting ink. Other changes include the addition of background colors (green, peach, and light blue), and an enlargement of Andrew Jackson's portrait. The U.S. Treasury redesigns bills every 5 to 10 years to make counterfeiting more difficult. The government estimates that one out of every ten thousand bills is counterfeit, a low percentage, but that means upwards of $44 million dollars in use are fake. A redesigned $50, featuring Ulysses S. Grant, and a new $100, featuring Benjamin Franklin, will follow in 2004 and 2005.