Chad Cargile, a senior vice president for AmSouth Bank, left, and Allen W. Bryant, the Jackson, Miss., resident agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service, show off a current 0 bill, top, and a specimen redesigned 0 bill, Thursday, March 2, 2006, in Jackson, Miss. The new currency will be released to the public at banks nationwide on Friday. Banking and law enforcement officials hope the new bill, which incorporates a number of security features such as the infusion of color and the slogan, We

Washington ? “We the People” started getting a lot more circulation Thursday with the introduction of the new $10 bill.

The Constitution’s opening phrase is printed in red on the new bills and the Federal Reserve began shipping the first of an expected 800 million of them this year to commercial banks across the country.

In addition to red, the new $10 bill features splashes of orange and yellow – all part of the government’s effort to thwart counterfeiters.

The colorized $10 joins the $20 – the first bill to get a color makeover, in 2003 – and the $50, which was colorized in 2004.

To mark the event, officials from the Treasury, Federal Reserve and Secret Service put the first new $10 bill into circulation at a brief ceremony at the National Archives.

Michael Lambert, assistant director of the Fed’s payment system, purchased a $10 copy of the Constitution in the Archives gift shop with one of the new bills.

He predicted people would see the new $10 bills in circulation soon. The country’s larger banks typically place orders for currency daily with the Fed.

U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral, whose signature appears on the currency, said the government planned to redesign the currency every seven to 10 years because “staying ahead of would-be counterfeiters is a top priority.”

A specimen redesigned 0 bill lies next to the current bill, Thursday, March 2, 2006, in Jackson, Miss. Law enforcement officials hope the new bill, which incorporates a number of security features to prevent counterfeiting will also make the public aware of changes and thus more observant for phony money. The new bills will be available to the public on Friday, at banks nationwide.

The new $10 bill still features Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first Treasury secretary, on one side and the Treasury building on the other side. Those two images are joined by the Statue of Liberty’s torch and “We the People” in red along with small yellow 10s and a subtle orange background.

The colorized $10 bill continues three security features from an earlier makeover: a plastic security thread to the right of Hamilton’s portrait imprinted with the words “USA TEN,” a watermark that shows an image of Hamilton when held to the light and color-shifting ink that makes the “10” in the right corner switch from copper to green when the bill is tilted.