Do all 100s have a blue line?

How to Spot a Genuine $100 Bill

One of the most common questions about U.S. currency is whether all $100 bills have a blue line. The answer isn’t quite black and white—it depends on the year the bill was printed.

Since 2009, a genuine $100 bill features a vertical blue security ribbon woven directly into the paper, not printed on top. This isn’t just a line—it’s embedded with microscopic images of bells and 100s that move and change as you tilt the bill. It's one of the most sophisticated anti-counterfeit features ever added to U.S. currency.

This blue ribbon only appears on redesigned $100 bills released after February 2013, though development began in 2009. Older versions of the $100 bill, while still legal tender, don’t have this feature. So if you're examining a pre-2009 bill and don’t see a blue ribbon, that doesn’t automatically mean it's fake—just that it's older.

Beyond the blue ribbon, another key detail to check is the color-shifting ink. On any genuine U.S. bill of $5 or higher, certain elements use special ink that changes color when tilted. On the new $100 bill, the number in the bottom right corner shifts from copper to green. This, combined with the blue ribbon, makes counterfeiting much harder.

Still, not every security feature is obvious at first glance. The paper itself is also unique—crisp and textured, made from a blend of cotton and linen, with red and blue security fibers embedded throughout.

So no, not *all* $100 bills have a blue line—but every genuine one printed in the last decade does. If you're handling a modern $100 bill and the blue ribbon isn't moving when you tilt it, it's worth taking a closer look.