PurpleheartOklahoma (scroll down)

Dollar Bill History

 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 an actual material.

 We've all washed it without it falling apart.
 A special blend of ink is used, the contents of which 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 of the seal, you will see the Scales of
 Balance -- 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, nor decided what we
 could do for Western Civilization. The pyramid is uncapped, 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
 printed 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 no one 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 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
 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 plumes of feathers on each span of the eagle's wing,
 13 bars on that shield,
 13 leaves on the olive branch,
 13 fruits (?),
 and if you look closely,
 13 arrows.

 Why don't more people know this? Kids don't know this and most history
 teachers don't know this. Too many veterans have given up too much to
 ever let such meaning fade. Author Unknown.

Many Korean and Vietnam veterans remember coming home to an America that didn't care. Too many veterans never come home at all.
 And even today, too many forget about the veterans once they are back and out of the military...fighting physical and/or mental problems......
 and trying to find a job to have a chance at that American dream.