Accounting and Finance Foundations

Unit 3

Accounting and Finance Foundations Unit 3: The Role of Money 166

The Role of Money

Chapter 6

Student Guide

Chapter 6

Hold the bill up to the light. On both sides of the bill, you should see a security thread, running from top to

bottom, woven into the paper. “TWENTY USA” and an American flag are printed along this thread. When

you hold the bill up to the light, you should also see a faint image of Andrew Jackson, the U.S. president

featured on the bill, to the far right of the larger image of him. This faint image, called a watermark, is visible

from both sides of the bill. Finally, the lower right corner of the front of the bill shows the denomination in

color-shifting ink. None of these features can be easily copied.

Other features of the bills like serial numbers and Federal Reserve indicators are used to make it easier

to track where the money goes.

Security Thread

Hold the bill up to the light and look for the security thread, or

plastic strip, that is embedded in the paper and runs vertically up

one side of the note. If you look closely, the words “USA TWENTY”

and a small flag are visible along the thread from both sides of the

note. This thread glows green when held under ultraviolet light.

Color-Shifting Ink

Look at the number “20” in the

lower right corner on the face of

the note. When you tilt the note

up and down the color-shifting

ink changes color from copper

to green.

Watermark

Hold the bill up to the light and look for

the watermark, or faint image, similar to

the large portrait of President Andrew

Jackson. The watermark is part of the

paper itself, and it can be seen from

both sides of the note.

Photos courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank

Why Does Money Look The Way It Does? (cont’d)