The green colour of the dollar and Christopher Ter-Serobyan

The picture shows modern green 100-dollar banknotes. At the end of the 19th century counterfeiting of dollars had become a serious problem in the USA. In 1869, despite new security measures, banknotes were easily copied.

To solve the problem, the Armenian specialist Christopher Ter-Serobyan, who was living in Constantinople (Istanbul) at the time, was invited to the USA. After many experiments he created a unique green colour that was almost impossible to counterfeit. This colour has been kept to this day and has become one of the most recognisable symbols of the American currency.

For his work Ter-Serobyan received 6000 dollars, which he invested in education, and he became a qualified pharmacist.