U.S. currency paper is 75% cotton and 25% linen, with red and blue fibers distributed through it. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing adds background colors, engraved printing and identifying numbers in separate printing stages.
BEP: currency paper and printing$100ASSEMBLING THE NOTE
ONE NOTE. MANY TECHNOLOGIES.
From cotton and linen to ink that changes color.
There’s more here than meets the eye.
AssembledExploded
TAKE IT INTO THE REAL WORLD
Three ways to check it.
TEXT ALTERNATIVERead all 14 interactive chapters
- 01 · One note. Many technologies.
Begin with the complete note, then move through its materials, printing and public security features.
- 02 · Pull the bill apart.
Separate the printing from the substrate to see how surface details and embedded features work together.
- 03 · Strip away the ink.
A banknote begins with a fabric-like blend: 75% cotton and 25% linen. Its security starts inside the material itself.
- 04 · Embedded. Not printed.
Short red and blue fibers are scattered throughout the currency paper. They belong to the substrate, not its printed artwork.
- 05 · A portrait made of light.
Hold the note to light. A second Franklin appears to the right of the printed portrait, visible from either side.
- 06 · The pink is the clue.
A thin thread to Franklin’s left reads USA 100. Transmitted light reveals it; ultraviolet light makes it glow pink.
- 07 · Now tilt the bill.
Bells become 100s. Tilt forward and back: the images move sideways. Tilt side to side: they move vertically.
- 08 · The first impression.
Offset printing adds background colors and artwork before the engraved details.
- 09 · An image you can feel.
Pressure transfers ink from engraved plates. The raised result gives Franklin’s shoulder its distinctive rough feel.
- 10 · Look closer. Much closer.
Tiny lettering follows Franklin’s collar, the golden quill and the watermark area. Small 100s also appear in the borders.
- 11 · Copper. Then green.
The numeral in the lower right changes from copper to green as the note tilts. Viewing angle makes the difference.
- 12 · A bell hiding in an inkwell.
The bell shifts from copper to green against its copper-colored inkwell, appearing and disappearing as you tilt.
- 13 · Security runs deep.
View the printing, fibers, security thread and woven ribbon in a conceptual cross section of the note.
- 14 · Put it all together.
Bring every layer back together and review the modern hundred-dollar bill as one complete design.
THE NOTE, EXPLAINED
15 design and security feature groups on a $100 bill
5KEY SECURITY FEATURES
10ADDITIONAL FEATURE GROUPS
The modern U.S. hundred-dollar bill combines cotton and linen paper with embedded security features and several kinds of printing. This guide covers the design first issued on October 8, 2013. It follows the 15 named headings in the U.S. Currency Education Program’s official feature sheet (PDF).
By the RealWorth editorial team. Sources checked and guide updated .
What are the 15 feature groups?
We count each named heading in the official feature sheet once: 5 under “Key Security Features” and 10 under “Additional Design and Security Features.” Paper includes its colored fibers; portrait and vignette remain one group. The two copies of the serial number also count as one group. Splitting those items would change the total.
This is a reproducible count of public feature groups, not a claim that a bill consists of exactly 15 physical parts. The interactive model above has 11 selectable features organized into 8 construction systems.
- Color-shifting ink
The large 100 changes from copper to green.
Front, lower right · Key security feature - Federal Reserve System seal
Black seal representing the Federal Reserve System.
Front · Additional feature group - Raised printing
Intaglio ink gives the note a textured feel.
Printed surfaces · Additional feature group - Portrait and vignette
Franklin on the front; Independence Hall on the back.
Front and back · Additional feature group - Gold 100
Large numeral to help people with visual impairments identify the denomination.
Back · Additional feature group - Serial numbers
An eleven-character identifier repeated on the same note.
Front, twice · Additional feature group
Names and grouping: official current-design $100 feature sheet (PDF). The series examples in that sheet are not a complete list of later series.
The $100 bill in numbers
- Paper composition
- 75% cotton, 25% linen
- Dimensions
- 6.14 × 2.61 inches
About 156 × 66.3 mm - Weight per note
- Approximately 1 gram
- Serial number
- 11 characters, printed twice
Sources: BEP paper and weight facts, CEP dimensions and banknote identifiers.
How to check a $100 bill’s security features
For the design issued since 2013, use the official Feel, Tilt, Check guide (PDF):
- Feel the raised printing. The surface, including Franklin’s shoulder, should have a slightly rough texture.
- Tilt the note. Look for movement in the blue ribbon and copper-to-green changes in the bell and the lower-right 100.
- Hold it to light. Look for Franklin’s watermark on the right and the security thread on the left, both visible from either side.
These checks apply to the physical note. An image or this 3D model cannot authenticate a bill. For older notes, use the guide matching their design; older U.S. currency remains legal tender.
Questions about the hundred-dollar bill
This guide counts 15 named feature groups in the official current-design $100 feature sheet: 5 key security features and 10 additional design and security features. That is a count of the sheet’s headings. It is not a complete inventory of every printed mark, material or undisclosed security feature.
CEP: official feature sheet (PDF)The wide blue strip is the 3-D security ribbon, woven into the paper. Its bells and 100s appear to move sideways when you tilt the note forward and back, and vertically when you tilt it from side to side. The narrow security thread is a separate feature on Franklin’s left.
CEP: how the 3-D ribbon moves (PDF)The security thread glows pink under ultraviolet light. In ordinary transmitted light, you can see its USA 100 markings from either side. The pink response belongs to this narrow thread, rather than the wide blue ribbon.
CEP: security thread under UV light (PDF)The collar reads THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Around the watermark area is USA 100; along the golden quill is ONE HUNDRED USA. Small 100s appear in the borders. You may need a magnifier to read this microprinting.
CEP: official microprinting locations (PDF)Benjamin Franklin is on the front of the U.S. $100 bill. Independence Hall is on the back. Franklin helped found the United States, signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and negotiated peace with Great Britain.
BEP: portraits and vignettesA modern U.S. $100 bill measures 6.14 by 2.61 inches, about 156 by 66.3 millimeters. U.S. banknotes have used this smaller standard size since 1929.
CEP: 1929 size standardizationA U.S. banknote weighs approximately one gram, regardless of denomination. At that rate, $10,000 in hundreds is 100 notes weighing about 100 grams; $1 million is 10,000 notes weighing about 10 kilograms, before straps or packaging.
BEP: note weight; totals calculated by RealWorthOlder U.S. currency designs remain legal tender. The Federal Reserve began issuing the redesigned $100 with the blue ribbon on October 8, 2013. Compare an older note with the official guide for its own design; the absence of a blue ribbon alone does not establish that it is counterfeit.
Federal Reserve: redesigned $100 announcementThe serial number is an eleven-character combination printed twice on the front. A star suffix identifies a replacement note. The series year records a design approval or a change of signatures; it does not give the exact date that individual bill was printed.
CEP: banknote identifiersOffset printing adds the background colors. Intaglio printing transfers ink from engraved plates under pressure, producing raised details. Letterpress adds serial numbers, seals and Federal Reserve identifiers. The viewer groups these processes to make them easier to inspect; the separated surfaces do not represent sheets you could peel off a real bill.
BEP: offset, intaglio and letterpressRealWorth’s viewer organizes the note by construction system and combines some printed details. The numbered guide follows the official feature sheet’s headings instead. The model enlarges fiber dimensions, ink relief and layer spacing so they can be seen on screen. Its optical effects are educational simulations.
CEP: compare with official note imageryHow many $100 bills make a million?
Divide an amount in dollars by 100 to get its value in hundred-dollar notes. One million dollars takes 10,000 notes.
1 note$100
10 notes$1,000
10,000 notes$1 million
10 million notes$1 billion
Sources and methodology
RealWorth counted the headings in the U.S. Currency Education Program’s feature sheet and retained its combined categories. The count describes that sheet’s public feature groups. It does not include every engraving line, identifier or security measure. Each numbered entry has a direct link so a reader can refer to the same feature.
The note imagery and detail photographs come from the U.S. Currency Education Program. The model uses layer views derived from the public specimen image. Ink relief, fiber positions, optical responses, watermark density and ribbon cross sections are interpretive. The model exaggerates spacing and thickness; its 8 systems are not 8 physical films.
RealWorth is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Currency Education Program, BEP, the Federal Reserve or the U.S. Secret Service.
Currency image use — 31 CFR 411. BEP’s currency image-use guidance explains the conditions in 31 CFR § 411.1 for color illustrations: less than 75% or more than 150% of the note’s linear dimensions, one-sided reproduction, and deletion or destruction of image-making materials after their final use. This educational model is not a reproduction template or permission to reproduce currency; this notice does not establish legal compliance.
Cash totals use the $100 face value. Weight estimates use approximately one gram per note and exclude packaging. Purchasing-power comparisons on linked pages use a separate method described in RealWorth’s calculator methodology.
- CEP: current-design $100 feature sheet (PDF)
- CEP: Decoding Dollars, Feel, Tilt, Check (PDF)
- BEP: how money is made
- BEP: currency image use and 31 CFR § 411.1
- BEP: currency facts and portraits
- CEP: history of U.S. currency and note dimensions
- CEP: serial numbers, series years and other identifiers
- Federal Reserve: October 8, 2013 issue announcement
- Federal Reserve: older-design notes