| With the advent of sophisticated color copiers, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is nervous about high-tech counterfeiting. Last year alone, officials seized $66 million in bogus money. To foil would-be counterfeiters, the bureau is gearing up to print new bills, the first major change in U.S. paper currency since 1929.
The modified money will contain a polyester filament imprinted with minuscule lettering and running from the top of the bill to the bottom. The thread on a $100 bill, for example, will bear the lettering USA 100. Visible only if held up to direct light, the thread cannot be...