U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow spoke at a meeting of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society Friday night, discussing recent changes in U.S currency and describing what her job entails.
"I have a wonderful job -- I manufacture money," Withrow joked.
Withrow was sworn into office in 1994 as the 40th U.S. Treasurer.
Having previously served as Ohio State Treasurer, she is the first person to have held the post of treasurer at all three levels of government -- local, state and national.
As Treasurer, Withrow said she oversees the operations of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the U. S. Mint and the U. S. Savings Bond Division.
Much of Withrow's speech focused on the recent alterations in the appearance of dollar bills.
"The redesign has been a lot of work," Withrow said.
Thus far, the new currency has reduced counterfeiting by a third of its previous volume, she said.
She added that the new bills cannot be duplicated on jet ink printers because the image will be distorted.
Withrow also praised the efforts of the Secret Service in preventing the creation and circulation of counterfeit money.
"We try to stay a step ahead of technology and keep money safe and secure," she said.
This year's buoyant economy has forced the U.S. Mint to produce a record number of bills -- 11.3 billion as opposed to the usual 9.2-9.6 billion produced per year, she added.
The fact that two-thirds of United States currency is circulating outside of the country also has positive implications, Withrow said.
"This indicates that other people trust our money rather than their own country's," she said.
Asked whether she felt that people will continue to use paper currency in the future despite electronic transfer systems, Withrow said "people will use what they trust and what is convenient," noting that instances of credit card and check fraud far exceed those of paper money.
She also spoke about the state quarter project, in which each state selects a design for its own commemorative quarter.
Some of the quarters released as a result of this project already have become collector's items: because of a production gaffe, some Pennsylvania quarters have the image printed upside-down on one side -- these rare coins are worth $200-$300, she added.
Withrow discussed the decision to engrave the image of Sacajawea, the legendary Native American guide of the Lewis and Clark expedition, on the soon-to-be-released dollar coin.
After Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin mandated that the new coin carry the image of a woman, a committee of four women and four men met in Philadelphia for two days to decide whose likeness was to appear on the coin, Withrow said.
"The four men wanted the Statue of Liberty, but the four women wanted a real woman," she joked.
She added that she believed Stephen E. Ambrose's novel "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West" brought Sacajawea into the Committee's consciousness.
Out of 122 drawings of Sacajawea submitted by the public, five were chosen as finalists to be presented on the Internet for public voting, Withrow said.
Glenna Goodacre, creator of the Women's Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., created all five of the top drawings, she said.
Goodacre has been in close consultation with members of the Shishoni tribe to ensure the authenticity of the engraving, she added.
In an innovative promotional gesture, the coin will appear in one out of every 2,000 Cheerios boxes after its release in January, Withrow said.
Jefferson Society Vice President Jonathan Carr said he was pleased Withrow was able to visit the University.
"We are always delighted to have a federal official of her importance come and talk with us about federal policies," Carr said. "We're just glad the University had a chance to hear her speak."
The event was co-sponsored by the Center for Governmental Studies.
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