Tag: Fun to know

Since numismatics also includes the study and collection of paper money, let’s have some fun with the lowly, but rather important, dollar bill.

Did you know?

• There are red and blue silk fibers woven into the linen and cotton blend – look closely in the white spaces on the bill.
• The black seal to the left of George’s portrait with the big letter in the middle identifies the Federal Reserve Bank that printed the bill (A = Boston, B = New York City, C = Philadelphia, D = Cleveland, E = Richmond, Va., F = Atlanta, G = Chicago, H = St. Louis, I = Minneapolis, J = Kansas City, K = Dallas).
• The small number just to the left of the black seal also denotes the Federal Reserve Bank. This number can be found four times on the front of the bill. For an Atlanta bill, 6 represents F, the sixth letter of the alphabet, and F represents the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta.
• Some people think there an owl or spider perches on the front of the dollar bill. Get a loupe or a magnifying glass for this one. First, look at the large “1” in the upper right corner. Just to the upper left of the “1,” the owl sits on the concave curve of the surrounding shield.
• On the back of the bill, the circles with the pyramid on the left and the eagle on the right come from the Great Seal of the United States.
• The founding fathers approved the Great Seal of the United States in 1782. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Ben Franklin provide input into the design of the Great Seal of the United States.
• The Latin “ANNUIT COEPTIS” above the pyramid means “God has favored our undertakings.”
• The second Latin phrase under the pyramid, “NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM,” translates to “new order of the ages.” Working on the Great Seal, the statesman, Charles Thomson, proposed the phrase to represent the beginning of the new American era that started with the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
• On the largest step of the pyramid, the Great Seal includes the Roman Numeral, “MDCCLXXVI.” This equates to 1776, the year of the “NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM.”
• Thomson offered the pyramid shape as “sturdy and enduring,” but he did not explain the unfinished state. Many think it represented the unfinished state of the country.
• The thirteen steps included on the pyramid represent the original thirteen colonies.
• Above the pyramid, the “Eye of Providence” visually signifies “ANNUIT COEPTIS” or the eye of God.
• The eye symbol has origins in ancient Egypt.
• On the right, in the seal above the eagle, “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” translates to “Out of many, one” and represents the thirteen colonies coming together into one entity.
• In the eagle’s talons, he holds arrows on the right and an olive branch on the left signifying war and peace.
• The Great Seal includes several representations of the number 13 for the original thirteen colonies. Thirteen steps on the pyramid, thirteen arrows in the eagle’s talons, thirteen leaves and thirteen olives in the olive branch held by the eagle, thirteen stripes in the shield on the eagle’s chest and thirteen stars above the eagle. Some people even count the letters in ANNUIT COEPTIS and E PLURIBUS UNUM as thirteen to represent the colonies.
• In addition, in the green Department of Treasury seal on the front of the bill, thirteen stars march across the shield in the chevron or upside down “V.”
• Alson, there are groups of leaves and fruits on either side of George’s portrait consisting of eight leaves and five fruits.

For even more fun, you can track your dollar bills on the web site, Where’s George.

Have fun!