Oct. 8, 2013, is the big day!

Paper money collectors should put a reminder in their smartphone or circle the date on the wall calendar because that’s when Series 2009 $100 Federal Reserve notes will go into circulation.

After a delay of more than two years, the Federal Reserve Board announced April 24 when the redesigned $100 FRNs will go into general circulation.

Beginning on Oct. 8 and thereafter, “Any commercial bank, savings and loan, or credit union that orders $100 notes from the Federal Reserve will have its order filled with the new $100 note,” according to a Federal Reserve news release.

According to the Federal Reserve news release, “Location, demand, and the policies of individual financial institutions will determine how quickly redesigned $100 notes reach the public, both in the United States and in international markets. Older series of $100 FRNs will not have to be traded in for new ones. Older designs of FRNs remain legal tender, and will not be recalled, demonetized, or devalued.”

The new designs for the $100 Federal Reserve notes were unveiled April 21, 2010, and the notes were expected to be placed into circulation Feb. 10, 2011.

However, in October 2010, Federal Reserve officials announced a delay in the release, saying the Bureau of Engraving and Printing had identified a problem with sporadic creasing of the paper during printing of the new $100 note.

The creasing problem was tied to the wide, blue 3-D security ribbon that is woven into the paper when it is made. The ribbon represents a new form of technology not previously used on any U.S. paper money.

Once the BEP identified a problem, production of the new notes was suspended. The creasing problem was resolved in late 2011 and production of the highly sophisticated $100 notes resumed in early 2012.

“We made numerous process changes to address the creasing issue and we are back in full production,” according to Dawn Haley, chief of the Office of External Affairs at the BEP.

Those changes included modifying the paper feeder on the printing presses to accommodate variations in the paper associated with the 3-D security ribbon.

The 3-D security ribbon is an optically variable device featuring 650,000 tiny glass domes, called micro lenses, crammed into it.

The micro lenses act as magnifiers for the multiple microprinted images of a bell and the numeral 100 on the thread. When the note is tilted, the images in the strip appears to be moving.

The ribbon is a new form of the technology, not previously used on any U.S. paper money. The ribbon was developed by Crane, of Dalton, Mass., the firm that has had an exclusive contract to supply currency paper to the BEP since 1879. The OVD technology is named Motion.

Treasury, BEP and Federal Reserve officials have said the added anti-counterfeiting devices will make it easier for the public to authenticate but more difficult for counterfeiters to replicate the new $100 FRNs.

While the designs of the new $100 notes have some similarity to the designs introduced with the Series 1996 notes, the Series 2009 $100 notes have more in common with the most recent designs used for the $5 to $50 FRNs.

The latest round of redesigns of Federal Reserve notes began in 2003 when splashes of color and additional security devices were added to the Series 2004 $20 FRN. Other denominations were similarly upgraded: Series 2004 $50 notes, Series 2004A $10 notes and Series 2006 $5 FRNs.

For more information about the Series 2009 $100 FRNs, as well as training and educational materials, visit www.newmoney.gov. ¦