AFRICAN AMERICAN OFFICIAL OF U.S. SECRET SERVICE
PARTICIPATES IN UNVEILING OF NEW $50 NOTE

please see caption below

Latest Denomination in The New Color of Money: Safer. Smarter. More Secure.

(AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWSWIRE)Fort Worth, TX - C. Danny Spriggs, the African American Deputy Director of the United States Secret Service, joined top officials of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in unveiling the newly designed $50 note.

The new design -- which has enhanced security features, subtle background colors of blue and red, images of a waving American flag, and a small metallic silver-blue star -- is part of the Government's ongoing efforts to stay ahead of counterfeiting and protect the integrity of U.S. currency. The new $50 note, which will be issued in late September or early October, is the second denomination to include background color. The first was the $20 note, which began circulating in October 2003.

Spriggs participated in a special unveiling ceremony for the new $50 note on April 26 at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Western Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Other top officials of the federal government participating in the unveiling were Treasury Secretary John W. Snow; Mark W. Olson, Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and Thomas A. Ferguson, Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

"We want the public to know how to use the note's security features to protect their hard-earned money," said Spriggs at the Fort Worth event. "The combined efforts of public education, aggressive law enforcement and improved currency design are helping tremendously in the fight against counterfeiting."

A native of Washington, D.C. and a 28-year veteran with the United States Secret Service, Spriggs was appointed to the key position of Deputy Director in February 2002. He began his career as a special agent assigned to the Albuquerque Field Office. Prior to this appointment as Deputy Director, he was the Assistant Director for the Office of Protective Operations, which has primary responsibility for all protective matters relating to the President, Vice President, former Presidents and visiting heads of state.

One of the many highlights of Spriggs' career was his act of bravery and superior performance during the March 30, 1981 assassination attempt on the life of former President Ronald Reagan. He was subsequently honored with the Department of the Treasury's Special Act Award for exhibiting excellent judgment during the attempted assassination by John W. Hinckley, Jr.

In his current role as deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service, Spriggs is responsible for providing support to U.S. Secret Service Director Ralph Basham in the planning and implementation of the Secret Service's protective and investigative missions.

Larry Felix, Associate Director of Technology for the Bureau of Engraving said "We designed the new security features found on the new currency to reflect the advancements in digital technology. The new $50 bill is a more 'international' note that is widely used around the world. Over 2/3 of the U.S. currency circulates outside of our borders."
"To enhance security and fight against counterfeiters who are using high tech printers and scanners, some of the improved security features now include complex line structures that make it difficult to reproduce bills."

As the law enforcement agency responsible for combating counterfeiting, the Secret Service has been very aggressive. In 2003, the U.S. Secret Service made 469 seizures of digital equipment -- such as personal computers -- involved in currency counterfeiting, and made more than 3,640 arrests in the U.S. for currency counterfeiting activities. The conviction rate for counterfeiting prosecutions is about 99 percent.

Because counterfeiters are turning increasingly to digital methods and as advances in technology make digital counterfeiting easier and cheaper, the government is staying ahead of counterfeiters by updating the currency every 7-10 years.

The new $50 design retains three important security features that were first introduced in the 1990s and are easy for consumers and merchants alike to check:

­ Watermark: a faint image, similar to the portrait, which is part of the paper itself and is visible from both sides when held up to the light.

­ Security thread: also visible from both sides when held up to the light, this vertical strip of plastic is embedded in the paper and spells out the denomination in tiny print.

­ Color-shifting ink: the numeral in the lower right corner on the face of the note, indicating its denomination, changes color when the note is tilted.

The $50 note will be followed later by a new $100 note. Decisions on new designs for the $5 and $10 notes are still under consideration, but a redesign of the $1 and $2 notes is not planned. Even after the new money is issued, older-design notes will remain legal tender.

To learn more about the new currency and to download images of the new currency designs, visit www.moneyfactory.com/newmoney.

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Photo Caption: Participating in a special unveiling ceremony for the redesigned $50 note was C. Danny Spriggs (right), the African American Deputy Director of the U.S. Secret Service. Other participants were (from left) Thomas Ferguson, Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, John W. Snow, Secretary, Department of The Treasury, and Mark W. Olsen, member of the Board of Governors, Federal Reserve system.