Rumors About Our Buck Don't Stop Here by Peter Rexford on Creators.com

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Rumors About Our Buck Don't Stop Here

Most of us are fortunate to have a lowly dollar in our pocket. I actually have a hard time saying that because when I was much younger, if I had a dollar, I felt like I was rich. I could buy a staggering amount of candy or packs of baseball cards with gum inside. Yes, yet again I've dated myself.

Today, offer $5 to a kid to do something, and he'll probably just roll his eyes. Offer him only a buck, and it could get ugly.

The fact is that the dollar bill remains the only circulating paper money that hasn't changed its design. All denominations of five and above now sport elaborate security measures in and on the paper. The rarely used $2 bill underwent a face-lift for the bicentennial in 1976. But the dollar bill remains pretty much the same as it was in the 1930s.

I've often been asked about some of the designs on the reverse. I'm more amused by the myths and suggestions of hidden meaning. If you feel so inclined, pull a dollar bill out of your pocket and take a look at the reverse. Here are some interesting fact and fiction elements:

The bill's two circle designs collectively represent the "Great Seal of the United States." The one on the left showcases a pyramid with an eye at the top. For the longest time, many have been convinced that this was tied to the Freemasons. Rather, the image was originally described as "pyramid unfinished," denoting the fact that the nation was just beginning. Contrary to popular belief, the number of bricks in the pyramid doesn't have hidden numerical meaning.

Those who argue about a "separation of church and state" would invariably have problems regarding the Latin used in the seal. Just above the "all seeing eye" or "eye of Providence" atop the pyramid are the words "Annuit Coeptis," which translates to "He Favors Our Undertaking," in reference to God. At the bottom is the phrase "Novus Ordo Seclorum," which means "New Order of the Ages." Together, they suggest great optimism and determination combined with faith.

Between the two seals are the words "IN GOD WE TRUST." The phrase had been on coins since the Civil War, but wasn't used on paper money until 1957 — when it appeared on the $1 silver certificate.

The adjacent seal is far more familiar.

Created by Charles Thomson and approved in 1782, the seal features the eagle grasping an olive branch and a quiver of arrows in its talons. It's long been contended that the eagle faces the arrows in time of war and faces toward the olive branch at times of peace. Wrong. The eagle consistently faces the olive branch. Truth be told, if that were the case and given our history, it would be rare for the eagle to ever face the olive branch. On rare occasions on the presidential seal, the eagle has faced the arrows, but the head is not designed to rotate based on our military status.

If the number "13" is inherently unlucky, the dollar bill is the most cursed money around. Pictured on it: 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 letters in Annuit Coeptis, 13 letters in E Pluribus Unum, 13 bars on the eagle's shield, 13 leaves in the olive branch, and 13 arrows and 13 stars above the eagle's head.

One of the best stories about the dollar bill involves those stars over the eagle. If you look closely, you'll see they form the Jewish Star of David. For some time, lore has had it that it's in tribute to a Polish Jew of the American Revolution named Hayim Solomon. He was a bill broker in Philadelphia, who also made interest-free and unpaid loans to the U.S. government and to many of America's leading patriots, including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. That's true.

After the revolution and before he died at the age of 45, as the story goes, George Washington purportedly asked Solomon what he would like in compensation for his service. The alleged reply was that he only wanted something for his people. The result was the Star of David design above the eagle.

It's a great story that would be fabulous if it were true. Fact is, only somewhat recently have the 13 stars been configured in that pattern. The first seal created and others that followed had the stars scattered in a random constellation.

The best part is that speculation and rumors will surely continue. That makes the dollar continually interesting and, in my opinion, the one remaining attractive piece of U.S. paper money. In that respect, when I have a dollar bill, I still consider myself rich.

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the two great seals has been sent with this column.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.