It seems that the newly designed bills were printed with too much ink and the lines in the very detailed artwork were hard to distinguish. The new $100 bills will feature 3D images and a chameleon like Liberty Bell, designed with the intent to thwart counterfeiters across the globe.

While much has been made about the commoditization of print, this error brings to attention that there is still a crafts-like aspect to printing and no amount of automation can fully replace the need for experienced, detail oriented press operators to see that the job is printed as designed. As far as the “bad” money, I am sure that there will be no lack of volunteers that would be willing to take it off of the government’s hands. I feel sympathy for the poor employee who will be tasked with destroying $30 million dollars.