Tomorrow - government shutdown or not - the Federal Reserve is going to start circulating the new $100 bill. The "New Color of Money" redesign to the US banknotes, which began in 2003, started with the new $20 bill. The redesign introduced new security features to stay ahead of counterfeiters.

The new $100 bill was originally scheduled for release in February 2011, but printing problems pushed the release date back a couple of times. It was important for the Federal Reserve to get it right, said experts, because the $100 banknote is the most commonly counterfeited currency outside the United states (like, for example, the Superdollar, a very high quality counterfeit that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing).

See: Man Charged with Making and Then Trying to Spend a Fake $1 Million Bill at Walmart

Here's what you need to know about the new $100 bill, from the Federal Reserve's website NewMoney.gov:

Major features of the new $100 banknote include:

3-D Security Ribbon
The blue ribbon near the middle of the banknote is woven into the paper, not printed on it. The printed "100" text move when the note is tilted.

Bell in the Inkwell
The Liberty Bell image is printed in color-shifting ink. Tilting the note make the bell change in color from copper to green.
Shape

Color-Shifting 100
The large numeral "100" in the lower right corner of the front of the banknote shifts from copper to green when the note is tilted.

Gold 100
The back of the note features a large "100" in golden print.

Learn more about the new $100 bill over at the Federal Reserve's NewMoney.gov website.