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Crisp new cash

It's the same old Abe. But with a new hue. President Abraham Lincoln's portrait still figures prominently on the redesigned $5 bill that went into circulation Thursday. However, the oval that framed his face has been replaced by a purple haze. Fl...

It's the same old Abe.

But with a new hue.

President Abraham Lincoln's portrait still figures prominently on the redesigned $5 bill that went into circulation Thursday.

However, the oval that framed his face has been replaced by a purple haze.

Flip it over and the Lincoln Memorial is still there, but now a big purple "5" jumps out of one corner.

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Those and other changes are intended to make the Federal Reserve notes more difficult to counterfeit, though most people will have to wait to examine the tweaked bills for themselves.

Jacque Morris, vault teller for the Moorhead branch of Northwestern Bank, said Thursday was the first day the Federal Reserve allowed her to order the bills, which are already in demand.

"A lady was asking about Easter and wanting to give them out as presents," said Morris, adding that the would-be Easter Bunny should receive her five-spots in time.

"We'll get them around Tuesday afternoon next week. They'll come in just in time," Morris said.

She said the bank still has a supply of the new $1 coins released in February.

Like last year, a total of four $1 dollar coins will be released this year, all bearing the likeness of a different president.

The others this year are scheduled to come out in May, August and November.

It will be many years before the updated $5 notes accrue in value as collectibles, and hoarding will likely keep the supply high and prices down, said Mark Kingsley, owner of Northern Plains Coins in Fargo.

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As with any antique, the value of U.S. currency typically doesn't appreciate until it's 75 to 100 years old, Kingsley said.

"I can't find too many people who will give me six bucks for a $5 bill from the '50s," said Kingsley, adding that the government minted far fewer bills back then.

In the 1950s, a low-mintage bill numbered perhaps 250,000 or less, Kingsley said.

"Today, it's not uncommon to make a million, or up to a billion notes in a year. That's just how much our economy is expanding," he said.

Older-style $5 bills will continue to be accepted until they wear out and are removed from circulation.

The average life span of a $5 bill is 16 months, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

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