THE $5 BILL
Estimated Lifespan: 5.5 years Value in Circulation (in 2017): $14.8 billion
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the $5 bill was sometimes referred to as a “fin.” It is widely assumed that this nickname has roots in Yiddish/ German, and we can certainly imagine Jewish greenhorns referring to a $5 note as a “finiver”!
Great Seal immediately to the right of Lincoln, the letters USA can be found between the columns, and the words E PLURIBUS UNUM (or “Out of many [states], one [country]”) can be found along the top.
Today’s bills of $5 and higher include many security features to prevent counterfeiting. On the $5 bill, there are two watermarks. The first is a large numeral 5, placed to the right of President Lincoln’s portrait, near the end of the bill, and the second is a column of three 5s, which can be found to the left of the portrait. The second feature is a security thread found to the right of the portrait. When held up to the light, one can read the alternating pattern of the letters USA and the numeral 5. When held under UV light, this security thread glows blue. Microprinting is a third technique used to ward off counterfeiters. On the $5 bill, the words FIVE DOLLARS appear inside each teardrop-shaped loop on the right and left borders of the obverse of the bill, and the words USA FIVE can be found along the edge of the large numeral five on the reverse of the bill. Finally, in the shield of the
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The reverse of the bill also has two strips that get blanked out when viewed in the infrared spectrum (see image, taken with an infrared camera). Finally, and most fascinating, perhaps, is the “EURion constellation,” or pattern of yellow zeroes formed from the scattered 05s on the bill. (This pattern, which can also appear as orange or green, also appears on other bills of currency, both in the U.S. and otherwise.) Color photocopy machines are programmed to recognize this pattern and refrain from making copies, and some machines even make a record of illegal photocopying attempts, which repair techs may eventually find and report to law enforcement.