Designs On The $1 Bill
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
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Loading ...It is said that 45 percent of all United States currency produced today consists of the one dollar bill, which
would make it the most seen and used of all denomination of US currency. The one dollar bill also brags having the second oldest design of all US paper money, largely because of its obverse design which was adapted in 1963, which is also the year that the one dollar bill was inducted into the Federal Reserve Note status.
The visual rendering of George Washington, the first President of the United States is fittingly featured on the obverse side of the one dollar bill, and has been so since 1869. The Federal Reserve District Seal is placed to the left of George Washington as well as the name of the Federal Reserve Banks that issued the note.
To the left of George Washington is the Federal Reserve District Seal. The name of the Federal Reserve Bank that issued the note surrounds a capital letter between A and L, to identify which of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks it was issued from. The sequential numbers of the these banks are also displayed over the open spaces on the four corners of the dollar bill. The Treasury Department Seal is placed to the right of George Washington and the balancing stars represents justice for all. The chevron of stars signifies the original colonies and the key below it stands for authority and trust. The year 1789 printed on the seal represents the year the Department of Treasury was established.
Below the Federal Reserve District seal, and to the left of George Washington, is the signature of the Treasurer of the United States. This will vary from time to time depending on the terms being served by the official, and the Secretary of the treasury’s signature is placed on the right side of the seal. The series and the year that the dollar bill was printed will be shown to the left of this Secretary’s signature and the number one (1) on the edges of the bill is entwined with olive branches.
The reverse side of the one dollar bill has a design infusing the Great Seal of the United States and various other symbols which purposes have been debated by historians and controversy enthusiasts alike. An unfinished pyramid is placed to the left of this seal and the separated top of the pyramid portrays the all-seeing eye. The shadow cast by the pyramid from the rising sun is said to symbolize the undiscovered lands to the west of the nation and the rising sun is said to symbolize the beginning of a new and powerful country. The Latin phrase Annuit Cœptis which means that God has favored the undertakings of the nation is also located above the pyramid.
Novus Ordo Seclorum which translates to ‘a new order of the ages’ is written on a ribbon below the pyramid and this phrase is said to be taken from the fourth Ecologue of Virgil. Also shown on the base of the pyramid is the roman numerals MDCCLXXVI or 1776, which is the year that the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence took place.
To the right of the reverse side of the note is a picture of the obverse side of the Great Seal which depicts a heraldic Bald Eagle and on the front of this eagle is a shield, said to signify the country’s fledgling ability to stand on its own. A glory of stars is also illustrated on the top of the eagle’s head and clutched between its beak is a ribbon that reads “E PLURIBUS UNUM” which translates to, ‘From many, one’. To symbolize the yearning for peace, but the readiness to fight, the eagle is also depicted holding an olive branch in its right claw with arrows in its left.
