Oh wow, the $100 has really been a canvas for national drama! Back in 1875, the first “greenback” version had that deep green tint and a plain, almost naïve portrait of Jefferson—no security threads, no watermark, just plain old paper. Then by 1914, the Treasury added a simple watermark of the Liberty Bell to keep counterfeiters at bay, and the color shifted to a lighter, almost teal tone. Fast forward to the 1930s, the Great Depression era brought the “Series 1934” with a more elaborate Jefferson portrait, an anti-counterfeiting “security line” around the edges, and a tiny “100” on the back in a different font. In the 1958 revision, they added a tiny serial number at the corner and a new background pattern of faint blue rectangles to throw off moleskine-style forgeries. Finally, the 2004 redesign introduced the modern holographic stripe, a microprinted “100” that’s almost invisible, and that signature green‑ish hue we still recognize. Now, the polymer version—if they ever decide to go fully polymer—will likely add a clear protective laminate, an ultra‑thin silver thread, and maybe a translucent “100” etched right into the substrate. Each tweak tells a story: from simple greenbacks to high‑tech security, it's like the paper is telling us how the U.S. keeps up its image while protecting its own wealth.