-The curent one dollar bill first circulated in 1957.
-The paper is not actually paper. It is a cotton and linen blend with red and blue silk through it.
-A secret ink blend is used.
-It is overprinted with symbols and starched to make it water resistant and look crisp.
-The front has the United States Treasury Seal and scales representing a balanced budget.
-The center has a carpenter's square and underneath is the Key to the United States Treasury.
-Here is what is on the back of the bill.
-The two circles comprise the Great Seal of the United States. Ben Franklin and others took four years to design this seal. It took two years to be approved.
-The left-hand circle has a Pyramid with a lighted face. The western side is dark to represent the unexplored West. The capstone has an eye, an ancient symbol for divinity.
-"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."
-The Roman numeral a the base of the pyramid is 1776.
-The right-hand circle is on every National Cemetery in the United States and is the centerpiece of most hero's monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States.
-The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons: First, he is not afraid, he is strong, he is smart. Second, the eagle wears no crown (We had just broken from the King of England). The shield is unsupported - This country can stand on its own. A white bar at the top of the shield signifys congress. 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 are thirteen stars representing the thirteen original colonies with clouds of misunderstanding rolling away.
-The Eagle holds an olive branch and arrows in his talons. This country wants peace but we will never be afraid to fight.
-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. But there were 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 13 arrows.