Subject: United States One Dollar Bill 
   

THE UNITED STATES 
ONE DOLLAR BILL 
Take out a one  dollar bill, and look at it. The one dollar 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 order has begun." 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. 
I always ask people, "Why don't you know this?"  Your  children don't know 
this, and their history teachers 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 back of the 
UNITED  STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL, and what it stands for... Otherwise, they will  
probably never know...