Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 5/22/85; site cbosgd.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!rew
From: rew@cbosgd.UUCP (Bob Warren)
Newsgroups: net.invest
Subject: Re: The Coming Currency Recall
Message-ID: <1472@cbosgd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Sep-85 16:38:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.1472
Posted: Wed Sep 11 16:38:32 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 12-Sep-85 09:36:42 EDT
References: <245@cylixd.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus, Oh
Lines: 34
Summary: The sinister reason...

In article <245@cylixd.UUCP>, dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) writes:
> 
> The coming currency recall is, according to one of my doom-sayer
> sources, is a plan created by the Treasury Department and the
> Federal Reserve, in conjunction with finance ministers of several other
> Western countries, to replace our current U.S. paper currency with
> a new currency that will be impossible to counterfeit. This new currency
> is called "rainbow money" because it is reported to be already printed
> and uses a different color for each demonimation

While one could speculate on the 'real (I mean REAL)' reason the goverement
does anything, this business of currency replacement is nothing special.
The New York Times has had articles over the last decade or so that
have addressed the increasing problem of currency counterfeiting.  
Basically, reproduction technology has caught up with the Treasury's current
printing methods.  There are supposed to be color copiers in the pipeline
that will reproduce exceptionnally good versions of US paper currency.
Once these are generally available, the authorities expect a huge increase
in phony money.  To combat this, the Treasury (really the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing) has experimented with a variety of new forms of currency.
These experiments have included actual printing runs of currency samples.   Many
countries already print different denominations in different colors (makes
a good deal of sense if you choose the colors right), but if the color
copiers are as good as rumored, this alone won't help.  Special paper and
watermarks have been proposed and tested.  It's unclear whether the 
Treasury will actually go through with the substitution--they are probably
afraid of another $2 bill/$1 coin fiasco.  BTW, I doubt that drug runners
are trembling in their boots about having to deal with the banks.  News
reports indicate that banks have managed to overlook the $10K transaction
reporting requirements when it served their interests (not just small
banks, either--Chase and First Boston come to mind).

Bob Warren
cbosgd!rew