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Our Symbolic Dollar Bill


Have you ever really looked at a one dollar bill?

All of us handle it countless times a day, only glancing at it, whereby specific graphics pop out at us only to be as quickly dismissed.

We purchase goods with it, pass it around liberally, forget to take it out of our pockets and gets thrown in the wash, and, generally take it for granted as US currency - just a dollar bill.

If you take a close look at the United States' one dollar bill, it is packed with words, symbols and history. Take out a dollar bill and see it come to life as you read the interesting descriptions below.


The Picture On The Front

The picture on the front of the US One Dollar bill is George Washington, the first President of the United States. President Washington was nicknamed, "the father of our country".


Cotton ~ The Fabric Of Our Lives

This so-called paper money is in fact a cotton and linen blend, with red and blue minute silk fibers running through. It is actually cloth, hence, it does not fall apart in the wash.

A special blend of ink is used; the contents we will never know. It is overprinted with symbols and then it is starched to make it water resistant and pressed to give it that nice crisp look.


Our Motto: In God We Trust

According to The Bureau Of Engraving And Printing, "The use of the national motto on both U.S. coins and currency notes is required by two statutes, 31 U.S.C. 5112(d) (1) and 5114(b), respectively.

The motto was not adopted for use on U.S. paper currency until 1957. It first appeared on the 1935G Series $1 Silver Certificate, but didn't appear on U.S. Federal Reserve Notes until the Series 1963 currency.

This use of the national motto has been challenged in court many times over the years that it has been in use, and has been consistently upheld by the various courts of this country, including the U.S. Supreme Court as recently as 1977.

The Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice intend to actively defend against challenges to the use of the national motto. In 1992, a challenge was filed and successfully defeated in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland."



The Great Seal Of The United States

According to the Department Of The Treasury, "The eye and the pyramid shown on the reverse side of the one-dollar bill are in the Great Seal of the United States."

The Bureau Of Engraving And Printing states, "The Great Seal was first used on the reverse of the one-dollar Federal Reserve note in 1935. The Department of State is official keeper of the Seal.

Symbolically, the seal reflects the beliefs and values that the Founding Fathers attached to the new nation and wished to pass on to their descendants. Charles Thompson (Secretary of Congress - 1782) explained the obverse side of the seal this way: "The red and white stripes of the shield "represent the several states...supporting a [blue] Chief which unites the whole and represents Congress."

Mr. Thompson continued, "The colors are adopted from the American flag: "White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valor, and Blue, the color of the Chief, signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice."

"The shield, or escutcheon, is "born on the breast of an American Eagle without any other supporters to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on their own Virtue."

The #13, denoting the 13 original States, is represented in the bundle of arrows, the stripes of the shield, and the stars of the constellation. The olive branch and the arrows "denote the power of peace and war."

The constellation of stars symbolizes a new nation taking its place among other sovereign states. The motto, " E Pluribus Unum", emblazoned across the scroll and clenched in the eagle's beak, expresses the union of the 13 States.

Recent scholarship has pointed out the probable source of this motto: Gentleman's Magazine, published in London from 1732 to 1922, was widely read by the educated in the American Colonies. Its title page carried that same motto and it is quite possible that it influenced the creators of the seal.

The reverse, sometimes referred to as the spiritual side of the seal, contains the 13-step pyramid with the year 1776 in Roman numerals on the base. At the summit of the pyramid is the Eye of Providence in a triangle surrounded by a Glory (rays of light) and above it appears the motto, "Annuit Coeptis", or "He (God) has favored our undertakings."

Along the lower circumference of the design appear the words, "Novus Ordo Seclorum", or "A new order of the ages," heralding the beginning of the new American era in 1776".

Shouldn't your children know this?

Shouldn't this be part of their school history curriculum?

They know where they live....shouldn't they also know
the symbolism behind the currency they use daily?

Is this information NOT important and interesting
in the understanding of our country's history?

The time and thought given by our forefathers
for our treasured documents and currency
is the nucleus on which our country was founded.

It should not be overlooked or forgotten.

If you didn't know all this before,
Now, you are enlightened....spread the word!!!

Teach your children well.

God Bless America


Source:
The Bureau Of Engraving And Printing
Department Of The Treasury