Del. Bank Gets Preview Of Jackson Facelift on $20

Wilmington Trust Corp. customers and employees recently got a sneak peek at the new $20 bill, which goes into circulation Thursday.

The curious snaked across the lobby of Wilmington Trust's headquarters here as U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow and Rep. Michael W. Castle, R- Del., displayed the redesigned currency, featuring the off-center visage of President Andrew Jackson.

The design elements are similar to those on the $100 and $50 notes introduced in 1996 and 1997, respectively: a watermark, an enhanced security thread, fine-line printing patterns, color-shifting ink, and the larger, off-center portrait. The $20 bill will also be easier to use for people with impaired vision; in addition to bigger numerals, it can be read by a device for the blind.

A Wilmington Trust spokeswoman said Rep. Castle asked to use the lobby for the event because of the bank's central site.

Like many banks, Wilmington Trust often lends its facilities to nonprofit groups. A Leukemia Foundation photo exhibit was there last month, and a national architecture group is currently showing its Delaware chapter's winning building designs.

The treasurer's Sept. 2 visit was one of many she has made since May to highlight the $20 bill's makeover. Last month she spoke at a convention of Wal-Mart managers; the company is one of a host of retailers helping to introduce the new bill by featuring it on shopping bags, posters, and pamphlets.

At Wilmington Trust, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving was selling uncut sheets of $1, $2, and $5 bills as souvenirs signed by the treasurer and congressman. A banner hung by the bureau behind its cash register boasted, "We make money the old-fashioned way. We print it."

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER