Monday, September 11, 2006

A U.S. Dollar Bill

Look at a one dollar bill. The 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. The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, "God has favored our undertaking." The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, "a new world order". 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 hero's 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. Secondly, 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.

Too many people 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 UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL and the meaning behind it.

I didn't write this - I received it in email. I tried so many times to post a scanned photo of a dollar bill and I finally gave up. Blogger - can you please get it together?!





20 comments:

Raggedy said...

Interesting!
Have a wonderful day!
*^_^
(=':'=) hugs
(")_ (")Š from da Cool Raggedy one

OldLady Of The Hills said...

What an interesting post this is Judy...So filled with fascinating info about the dollor bill and in turn, our country! I loove all that stuff about 13. It just goes to show you!

Eddie said...

Judy,
That was interesting.
Another thing interesting about the dollar bill - it used to be the law, I don't know if it still is or not, is that you cannot, or I mean you MAY NOT reproduce a likeness of it for publication or any kind of show. That is why they used "stage money".
Or so I heard anyway.

Pat said...

Even though I have no dollar bill to follow the descriptions (and please don't all send me one!)it was very instructive.
We here in the UK share your sadness at this time.

Anonymous said...

Hi Judy ~ Interesting post. Thank you for your kind words on my 9/11 tribute,
they are much appreciated. It was just such a horrible tragedy, none of us will ever forget. Such a very sad time each anniversary. Take care Judy, Love Merle.

Susie said...

Judy,
I enjoyed reading all this about the dollar bill also.
I had problems uploading also until I changed to Firefox. (had lots of probs with IE) I still have problems if all of blogger goes down, but otherwise do OK...

Anonymous said...

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing this!

Pirate said...

symbolissm like this is what adds so much intrigue in our nation's history. It also adds some mystery for the conspiracy nuts.

It was fun to read.

Kristen said...

this was quite interesting. thanks for sharing it.

michele says hello :)

Bonvallet said...

Very interesting and your blog is worth $81,293. of these. ;) Seriously this was very interesting. I read a couple of things twice and pulled a dollar bill out of my purse.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the lesson. It's one I intend to share with a class I teach, so your good word will spread.

srp said...

Interesting facts. I certainly didn't know all of this. They haven't come out with the new design for the one dollar as they have for the five and tens and such. Wonder what the changes will be.

Jamie Dawn said...

I read this before a long time age. As I read, some of it came back to my memory, but most of it I'd forgotten.
Go number 13!!!!
So far, I'd say our nation has been lucky... or blessed.
The #13 hasn't hurt us any.

I'd like to have a few million of those one dollar bills right now. Wouldn't you?

Anonymous said...

All of this was very interesting. Especially the 13 stuff. Which makes me now wonder....when did the number 13 become something to be avoided?
If anybody can find out....it's YOU, Judy...lol

Azgreeneyes said...

That was interesting! You don't want to know how long it took me to find a dollar bill! Here via Michele's!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting facts. Did you know that a lot of the figures on the bill also are Masonic? Many of our founding fathers including George Washington, were Masons.

It is worth a little research.

utenzi said...

Actually, Franklin was the only Mason on the design committee but a number of them were Deists--though Franklin, late in life, did go back to a more conventional view of God.

You'd best not start scanning legal tender and uploading it onto the Internet, Judy. You might get Treasury Agents coming after you. They don't have much of a sense of humor, I've heard.

Shephard said...

Fascinating to see it all here explained so concisely. Thanks for sharing that.
~S

Anonymous said...

Some Latin quibbles:

"NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM"

means "a new order for (of) the ages", not "new world order"

"ANNUIT COEPTIS"

"(Someone or something) has approved of our undertaking."

As the original Latin is from the "Aenid", where it reads "Jupiter omnipotens, audacibus annue coeptis." or "Jupiter omnipotent, favour [my] daring undertakings", God is assumed, but was originally the Roman god Jupiter.

"E PLURIBUS UNUM"

means "out of many, one". "Nation" is implied, not specified. The "many" refers to the 13 colonies, not the individual people.

"The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows."

This is not true. The Great Seal of the U.S. has never been changed for this reason.

Other corrections:

There were 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, not 13.

The statement "And, for minorities: the 13th Amendment." is a bit patronizing. "Minorities" encompasses Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, etc. None of these people were slaves, thus they were not freed by the 13th Amendment.

Ben Frankling and his committee did not come up with the final seal, Charles Thomson did when Franklin and three committees failed to come up with one.

Sorry to be niggling about details, but accuracy is imperative.

David Allen
www.thoughtcrimes.org

Anonymous said...

Interesting read.


There's pictures at flickr you might be able to link to

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=89265538&size=m

there's a link there to blog this