Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
U.S. one dollar bill
The U.S. one dollar bill ($1) is a denomination of U.S. currency. U.S. President George Washington is currently featured on the front side of the bill, while the Great Seal of the United States is featured on the reverse side.
The first one dollar bills were produced in 1862. They featured a portrait of Salmon Chase, secretary of the treasury. The current design illustrated here began production in 1957. They are made of a cotton and linen blend, with red and blue minute interwoven silk fibers. Minor changes in the details of the design of the currency are made frequently by the Treasury Department, but are generally only noticed by enthusiasts and collectors.
One dollar bills are delivered by the Federal Reserve Bank in Blue straps.
Obverse
Reverse
The three circles together make up the Great Seal of the United States, which was first used in 1782. The pyramid is dark to the west, a largely wild and unexplored part of Northern America in those days. The separated cap of the pyramid, carrying the all-seeing eye, symbolizes that the United States are still far from finished, but with God's help, this can be achieved. The Latin writing ANNUIT COEPTIS (He [God] has favored our undertaking), emphasizes this. NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM (A New Order of the Ages) is a reminder of the recent separation from Great Britain. Written at the base of the pyramid is MDCCLXXVI or 1776 in Roman Numerals, the year the United States Declaration of Independence was signed. The Bald Eagle in the other circle does not wear a crown, relating to the same event. In addition, the unsupported shield in front of the eagle symbolizes the new country's ability to stand on its own, unified by congress, which is symbolized by the white bar on top of the shield. The eagle's beak says E PLURIBUS UNUM (From many, one). It holds an olive branch and arrows in its claws, symbolizing "we want peace, but are ready to fight".
The number thirteen, symbolizing the 13 original colonies (13 stripes on the flag), shows up over and again:
- 13 stars above the eagle
- 13 steps on the Pyramid
- 13 letters in ANNUIT COEPTIS
- 13 letters in E PLURIBUS UNUM
- 13 bars on the shield
- 13 leaves on the olive branch
- 13 fruits
- 13 arrows
The number 13 and all seeing eye are also symbols of the Illuminati and Freemasonry. The first President of the United States, George Washington, is generally believed to have been a Freemason, and is depicted in a painting of the laying of the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol building as having had the all seeing eye on top of a pyramid depicted on his masonic apron.
The United States' seal has never been a Masonic or Illuminati symbol. Its design was submitted by Pierre Du Simitiere to the committee of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. Of the four, only Franklin was a Freemason, but his ideas for design were not accepted by the committee. The all-seeing eye was a classical symbol of the time, but the eye atop a pyramid seems to be an invention of Du Simitiere, and approved by the committee.
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