A Dollar Bill
Take out a one-dollar bill and look at it.
The one dollar bill (small portrait) you’re looking at first came off the presses in 1957. This so-called paper money is in fact mostly a cotton and linen blend, with red and blue minute silk fibers running through it. It is mostly cloth.
We’ve all mistakenly washed it and wondered why it didn’t fall 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.
The printing method is called gravure, which means that it is engraved.
All the U.S. paper currency is produced only at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington, DC.
When you look at the front of the bill, you will see the United States Treasury Seal. Within the seal, on the top you will see the scales for the balance, ie.e, a balanced budget. In the center, you have a carpenter’s T-square, a tool used for an even cut. Underneath is the Key to the United States Treasury. That’s pretty easy to figure out, but what is on the back of that dollar bill is something we should all know.
Turn the bill over, and 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. In the left hand circle, you will see a Pyramid. Notice the face of the pyramid 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 uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the capstone you have the seeing eye, and 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 “under-taking.” The Latin below the pyramid, “NOVUS ORDO SECLORUK” means “a new order has begun.” At the base of the pyramid is the Roman numeral for 1776.
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 it is the centerpiece of most heroes monuments.
Within the right circle: 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 small 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 the 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.”
Above the Eagle you have thirteen stars representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away. Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch anda bundle of 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 ware, his gaze turns to the arrows.
