One Dollar’s Worth
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The United States One Dollar Bill.
Take out a one dollar bill, and look at it.
The one dollar bill you’re looking at first came off the presses
in 1957 in its present design.
This so-called paper money is in fact a cotton and linen blend
with red and blue minute silk fibers running through it.
It is actually material.
We’ve all washed it without it falling apart. 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.
If you look on the front of the bill, you will see the United
States Treasury Seal.
On the top, you will see the scales for a balanced budget.
In the center you have a carpenter’s square, a tool used for an
even cut. Underneath is the Key to the United States Treasury.
That’s all pretty easy to figure out, but what is on the back of
that dollar bill is something we should all know.
If you turn the bill over, you will see two circles.
Both circles, together, comprise the Great Seal of the United
States. The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin
Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took them
four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get
it approved.
If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid.
Notice the face is lighted and the western side is dark.
This country was just beginning. We had not begun to explore
the West or decided what we could do for Western Civilization.
The Pyramid is un-capped, again signifying that we were not even
close to being finished. Inside the capstone, you have the all-
seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity. It was Franklin’s
belief that one man couldn’t do it alone, but a group of men,
with the help of God, could do anything. “In God We Trust” is on
this currency, but that phrase was added in the 1950s during the
Red Scare.
Prior to that, none of our paper currency had that phrase.
The Latin above the pyramid, Annuit Coeptis, means, “God has
favored our undertaking.”
The Latin below the pyramid, Novus Ordo Seclorum, means, “a new
order has begun.”
At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776.
If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully,
you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the
United States.
It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell,
Florida National Cemetery and is the centerpiece of most heroes’
monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President
of the United States, and it is always visible whenever he
speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean.
The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two
reasons:
First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is
smart enough to soar above it.
Second, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the
King of England.
Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now
stand on its own.
At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying
congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one
nation.
In the Eagle’s beak you will read, “E Pluribus Unum”, meaning,
“one nation from many people.”
Above the Eagle, you have thirteen stars, representing the
thirteen original colonies and any clouds of misunderstanding
rolling away. Again, we were coming together as one.
Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive
branch and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never
be afraid to fight to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to
face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward
the arrows.
They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is
almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room
numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor.
But think about this:
13 original colonies,
13 signers of the Declaration of Independence,
13 stripes on our flag,
13 steps on the Pyramid,
13 letters in the Latin above,
13 letters in “E Pluribus Unum”,
13 stars above the Eagle,
13 bars on that shield,
13 leaves on the olive branch,
13 fruits,
and if you look closely, 13 arrows.
And, for minorities: the 13th Amendment.
I always ask people, “Why don’t you know this?”
Your children don’t know this, and their history teachers don’t
know this.
Too many veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning
fade. Many veterans remember coming home to an America that
didn’t care. Too many veterans never came home at all.
Share this page with everyone, so they can learn what is on the
back of the UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL and what it stands
for. Otherwise, they will probably never know…
~Author Unknown~
Steve Pohlit
International Business and Real Estate Investment Coach