NGC and PMG Ink Signature Label Deal with Larry R. Felix, 25th Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Larry R. Felix, Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 2006 to 2015, has signed an exclusive signature label deal with Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®) and Paper Money Guaranty® (PMG®). Newly designed special labels, featuring imagery from the next-generation $100 Federal Reserve note that went into circulation during his tenure, enhance Felix’s signature and create a handsome presentation for coins and notes.

A 2015 Silver Eagle with the NGC Larry Felix Signature Label. Click coin image to enlarge.

Felix was appointed the 25th Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing on January 11, 2006. When he took office, one of his first goals was to complete the redesign of the $100 Federal Reserve note and get it into circulation.

However, another redesign project became necessary and took precedence over the $100 note. Counterfeiters were bleaching the ink off of genuine $5 Federal Reserve notes and using the paper to print fake $100 notes. These forgeries were successful because the placement of security features on the $5 and $100 were similar.

To stop the con, the decision was made to redesign the $5 note, which in fact reversed the Treasury Department’s longstanding position that it would not change the design of the $1, $2 and $5 denominations. The redesigned $5 Federal Reserve notes entered circulation in March 2008 and became Felix’s first major accomplishment as Director.

The next-generation $100 note, put into circulation on October 8, 2013, came to be the last redesign that Felix supervised. The most complex note of any US currency series to date, it introduced two advanced security features — the 3D security ribbon and the bell in the inkwell — in addition to including several highly effective features used in other US denominations, such as the portrait watermark, security thread and raised printing.

In the 3D security ribbon, which is woven into the paper, not printed on it, the bells change to 100s when the note is moved back and forth. The bell in the inkwell changes from copper to green when the note is tilted.

A 2013 $100 Federal Reserve note graded PMG 68 Superb Gem Unc EPQ with the PMG Larry Felix Signature Label. Click image to enlarge.

With currency designs becoming more technologically complex, Felix decided to update the Bureau’s quality management system and implement new indirect inking intaglio presses, which gave the Bureau the ability to print a 50-note sheet of currency, compared to the 32-note sheet that had been produced for decades. Converting to new equipment and producing larger sheets greatly improved the Bureau’s efficiency, printing capabilities and consistency. Felix has said that the installation, testing and implementation of this equipment is one of the highlights of his career.

That career started in 1983, when Felix began working as an Account Manager in the Savings Bond Division. In 1992, he entered the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as the Manager of Marketing in the Office of Communications. Then, he became the Chief of the Office of External Relations and went on to become Associate Director for Technology and later Deputy Director. Felix also chaired the Inter-Agency Currency Design taskforce, which is responsible for recommending technical enhancements to US currency.

“As Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the buck literally stopped at my desk,” said Felix. “It meant a lot to me to make a real difference in that role and to be innovative. I am glad to sign NGC and PMG signature labels to give collectors a tangible link to the fascinating evolution of US currency.”

“Larry R. Felix led a game-changing modernization of US currency production but he will likely be remembered most for the next-generation $100 Federal Reserve note,” commented Mark Salzberg, NGC and PMG Chairman. “We are honored that he will be signing our certification labels.”

Felix joins John Mercanti, the 12th Chief Engraver of the US Mint; Edmund C. Moy, the 38th Director of the US Mint; Anna Cabral, 42nd US Treasurer; and many of America’s most influential figures in numismatics, who have also agreed to exclusively sign NGC certification labels.

The NGC Larry R. Felix Signature Labels will be available from select retailers. To learn more about NGC Authentic Hand-Signed Labels, click here. To learn more about PMG labels, click here.