100 Dollars Federal Reserve Note, colored

The redesigned $100 note — introduced into circulation in October 2013 after a troubled production run — was delayed nearly three years due to a catastrophic manufacturing defect. A crease forming during the high-speed printing process created a blank, unprinted fold on a significant number of sheets; the BEP ultimately had to quarantine and inspect over a billion notes before release. The 3-D Security Ribbon is woven into the paper itself, not printed on it, a distinction that matters both for authentication and for understanding why the note proved so difficult to manufacture at scale.