A redesigned five dollar bill is being released into circulation this week. The Treasury Department made some changes to the five in response to counterfeiters, who were bleaching the bills and re-inking them as 100-dollar notes.Louisville Federal Reserve Bank Branch spokesperson Maria Hampton says the new five dollar bill includes a larger image of President Lincoln, a relocated security strip and a shade of purple exclusive to the denomination. Hampton says other redesigned denominations, including the ten and twenty, have specific colors."If you look at the different hues of the bills, and they're all in your wallet now, you’ll be able to pull a different bill more easily now because there’s a different color hue on each one of them," Hampton said.The new fives will be shipped to banks and other institutions this Thursday.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.