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50 Dollars Federal Reserve Note, small portrait, with security thread
| Issuer | Federal Reserve System |
|---|---|
| Year | 1990-1993 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Bureau of Engraving and Printing, United States (1862-date) |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio-printed portrait vignette of Ulysses S. Grant at center, surrounded by fine-line guilloche underprint in green and black. The Federal Reserve Seal and Treasurer's signature appear to the left of the portrait, while the Treasury Seal and Secretary's signature are positioned to the right. Serial numbers are printed in green at upper right and lower left. |
|---|---|
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| Protection description | Embedded polyester security thread inscribed with 'USA 50' in microprint, running vertically through the note; visible when held to light. |
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| Comments |
The security thread on this series was a direct response to a specific technical threat: high-quality photocopiers, particularly the Canon Color Laser Copier 500, had by the late 1980s become capable of producing counterfeits convincing enough to pass in routine retail transactions. The embedded polyester thread — reading "USA FIFTY" and visible only when held to light — was the first major structural security addition to U.S. currency since the switch to small-size notes in 1929.
The "small portrait" designation distinguishes this from the 1996 redesign, which enlarged and repositioned Grant's image. Notes from this transitional series circulated alongside the redesigned type well into the early 2000s before most were withdrawn through normal attrition.