Where did your money come from?
What symbols hide in plain sight on the one dollar bill?
Find out as we look at Strange Secrets In US Money.
This video is brought to you by the Joe Jillions channel, check out more of our content at
the end of this video!
Number 10.
Where's George?
Dollar bills see such circulation that transactions often take them across the United States and
beyond.
The journey of American currency is long and full of twists and turns, leading to a curiosity
in the public as to where that money's been and where it's at...a curiosity that has since
been quenched thanks to website wheresgeorge.com.
By visiting Where's George?, users can input their bill's Serial number to find out where
it's been and report their own location to update information.
This fun feature is reserved just for one dollar bills, though, and not every bill in
circulation has been reported.
Number 9.
Peace or Conflict Many symbols appear on the one dollar bill,
but few as poetic as the contents filling the eagle's talons on the back right side
of the bank note.
The pose features the national bird clutching a bundle of arrows and an olive branch in
its grip, one in each claw.
This image, the Great Seal of the United States, dates back to 1782, and can be seen today
on a number of official documents such as passports and embassy placards.
It was originally used in currency on the backs of coins, but after 1935, it began to
see use on the dollar bill.
The significance of the items in its grip are that they are symbolic of military aggression
and diplomatic negotiation, two powers at odds with one another and yet wielded by the
same entity.
The eagle, in this instance, symbolizes Congress and its power to implement both.
Number 8.
Lucky 13 The number thirteen typically has a negative
connotation due to its superstitious relation to bad luck.
Beliefs revolving around the unlucky numeral run so deep that hotels often avoid owning
a thirteenth floor or even a room thirteen.
So it might seem worrisome when examining a one dollar bill as this number appears consistently
on the bank note in a variety of ways.
You can find it all over the Great Seal, with olive branch leaves, olive branch fruits,
arrows, bars on the shield, and stars over the eagle all totaling thirteen.
The iconic pyramid on the back of the bill has thirteen steps and even the two latin
phrases on the dollar, "E Pluribus Unum" and "Annuit Coeptis", both feature thirteen letters!
This doesn't mean your one dollar bills are cursed though as the reason for this number
stretches back to the very beginning of United States when the country began as thirteen
colonies.
Number 7.
Folded Messages Symbols decorate U.S. currency entirely, with
emblems of patriotism and historical significance making their way onto every inch of a bill's
surface.
But some concealed messages require a bit more thinking outside the box.
Examining the various bills found in America reveals a somewhat wide array of phrases and
words featured on the money.
One artist has turned this opportunity into a form of expression, contorting, twisting,
and folding bills to create nearly whatever phrase he wants.
Iconic lines like "Nothing to Fear", "Resistance is Futile" and "Don't Tread On Me" make up
Dan Tague's catalog.
As an artist, Tague draws on current events, politics, famous slogans, and popular music
for inspiration to craft messages that reflect America from the very fuel that drives it.
His work can be found on public display at exhibitions and collections around the world,
as well as online for purchase.
But just because he's an expert at the technique doesn't mean you can't try this yourself at
home.
With all the possibilities, you may even find a new folded phrase entirely.
Number 6.
Roman Numerals & Latin Language While much of American history has been told
through the portrayal of English-speaking forefathers, much of the symbolism found on
government property like architecture, documents, seals, and elsewhere features Latin phrases
and Roman numbering.
For example, under the unfinished pyramid on the back of the dollar bill are the roman
numerals MDCCLXXVI, which translate to 1776, the birth date of America.
The Latin mottos adorning the bill represent the righteousness and fateful path of the
United States since its inception.
The pyramid features two statements: "Annuit Coeptis" and "Novus Ordo Seclorum", which
roughly translate to "God has favored our undertaking" and "a New World Order" respectively.
Then, along the eagle's banner in the Great Seal, the phrase "E Pluribus Unum" speaks
to the unity of the country with the statement "out of many, one".
As a republic, many of the nation's principles derive from the Roman republic, and as such,
the use of Latin and Roman symbols pays homage to America's predecessors...along with giving
the presentation a bit more prestige.
Number 5.
Federal Reserve America's money is produced in the Federal
Reserve, which is America's central banking system.
Individual Federal Reserve Banks can be found across the country, with twelve in total occupying
distinct regions of the nation.
These Federal banks reside in the following cities, from East to West coast: Boston, New
York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis,
Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco.
These locations collectively print billions of notes a year, and perhaps surprisingly,
each one is printed with a specific indicator of their origin city.
That means no matter which of the individual notes you might receive, you'll always be
able to figure out the bank that produced it and it's as simple as knowing your A-B-Cs!
Lettered A1 through L12, these designations can be found on the face of each bill, whether
one dollar or one hundred.
They each correspond to one of the Federal Reserve's banks, beginning from the East coast
heading West.
Number 4.
Faces & Forms Some of the secrecy revolving around the design
of U.S. money comes from the shapes, forms, and oddities seen when deeply scrutinizing
the bill's surface.
Each bill contains a net-like pattern tracing the outside of the bill in a three-dimensional
form, and the intricacies of its structure have lead many to find hidden forms in plain
sight.
One such symbol is the Maltese Cross, an emblem associated with the chivalric order of the
Knights of Malta.
It appears behind the word and number one in the top left corner of the back of a single
bill.
This is often tossed up to coincidence by most, but the reach of the organization is
still somewhat widespread today, albeit in the name of public service and religious promotion.
Another form seen in the dollar's design is the Hindu goddess Shiva.
Near the bottom left side of the back of the bill is a form that vaguely resembles the
"Destroyer" deity with her traditional hair in a bun.
But classically, the United States has shown little influence and connection with the Eastern
religion, so this one is most likely pure chance.
One other popular visual spotted on the one dollar bill is what appears to be a face in
the stones of the pyramid.
The supposed eyes, mouth, and jawline of the form have caught on with internet users for
its strange similarity to the popular "forever alone" meme.
Number 3.
Incomplete Pyramid On the reverse side of the dollar bill is
the other half of the Great Seal of the United States in the form of the iconic unfinished
pyramid.
It began to see use with the adoption of the Great Seal in 1782 due to the popularity of
"pendant seals" at the time, all of which had two sides.
Stated initially as a symbol of America's assumed "strength and duration", this imagery
was plainly inspired by the great pyramids of Egypt.
The forefathers of the American Revolution saw themselves as architects of a sort, having
laid the foundation for the construction of a great nation.
Hence the pyramid left unfinished.
But atop this emblematic structure is something in place of a pointed top: The Eye of Providence.
Closely tied to the secret society known as the Freemasons, The Eye of Providence is a
Christian depiction of the eye of God, but it has deeper meaning when combined with the
Masonry belief that the creator is the Great Architect of the Universe.
Add this with the unfinished Pyramid and other architectural metaphors within the symbol
and it's easy to see why many take this as a clue of the Freemasons involvement in the
origin of the United States.
Number 2.
Enigmatic Symbol Much of the layered symbolism on U.S. currency
is deep, meaningful, and can be easily traced back to its origin with a little historical
knowledge and cryptology know-how.
But one strange symbol that has shown up on the one dollar bill isn't quite as clear-cut
as the rest.
In the top right corner of the one dollar bill, near the top left corner of the crest
surrounding the number 1 is a small form unnoticeable on first glance.
But with the help of a magnifying glass, you can get a clearer picture of what appears
to either be a spider or an owl, according to most.
An owl could make sense to some, as those who've already bought into the Freemasonry
relation would recognize the secret society's commonly used bestial icon.
Others, though, see the spider, especially given how much of the design around the edge
of dollar bills bears a resemblance to webbing.
But one other hypothesis about this symbol sounds a bit more believable.
The web-like design creates little peaks, as can be seen in a couple places at the bottom
of the one dollar bill.
The very tip of one of these pinnacles is all that sticks out from behind the crest
surrounding the number one, thus creating the illusion of a small bird or insect peeking
over the ledge!
Number 1.
Security Features To safeguard against counterfeiting, the Federal
government has equipped individual bills with some security measures that can be easily
identified.
While most denominations have some means of validating authenticity, the hundred dollar
bill has the most protection.
It has features such as a 3D ribbon woven into the paper from front to back, a portrait
watermark of Benjamin Franklin, color shifting ink, raised print lettering, and a security
thread that runs through the bill that turns visibly pink in UV light.
Comparatively, the one dollar bill has nearly zero security measures, though the cost to
make a counterfeit would in most cases outweigh its worth!
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