2.5_bil

[John Young]

   The 2-15-96 NYT reports on the design and manufacture of
   the new high-tech Swiss bank note:

      The 50-franc bill is the world's first digital bank note
      -- designed on a computer that resolves its design into
      2.5 billion points, each of them individually accessible
      electronically. There are more than 20 security
      features, though the precise number is a secret. Its
      design is vertical rather than horizontal. Ten printing
      processes are involved, including silk screening for the
      chameleon numbers and hot stamping for the silvery
      elements.

      The Swiss say American bills are "a little outdated,
      even the new ones, as far as the state of the art goes."


   2.5_bil