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Some Thoughts on the Reverse Design of the $1 Bill

ChoppyChoppy Posts: 56 ✭✭✭
edited July 12, 2026 11:42AM in U.S. & World Currency Forum

I just completed my $1 silver certificate type set. FYI, I have found this to be a great set to assemble because it has a definite start and end, and none of the bills is exorbitantly expensive. Even the 1896 $1 Educational note can be had in a nice grade for a decent price.

I have enjoyed examining the reverse designs on the various bills in this set, from the kaleidoscopic engraving of the 1886 $1 Martha Washington reverse to the elegant 1923 $1 Black Eagle / Cogwheel reverse. I even like the reverse of the so-called "Funny Back" notes.

All beautiful bills! And then you get to 1935...

Disembodied eyes. Pyramids. "NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM / New Order of the Ages". "ANNUIT COEPTIS / He favors our undertaking".

I'd imagine that folks in 1935 wondered WTH was going on with this reverse design, especially given that all our other circulating currency featured architecture. I'd love to read some 'letters to the editor' from folks back then to see what they thought of all these design elements, as many probably thought that they were occult or pagan symbols.

Anyway, we've been stuck on this design for over 90 years, and I suppose that we'll have it until someone finally pulls the plug on the whole $1 series. Interestingly, Wikipedia says this about potential redesigns:

In response to various requests to redesign the $1 bill to include (among others) the Preamble, Bill of Rights, and list of Articles of the United States Constitution, recent budgets passed by Congress have included provisions to prevent the Treasury Department from spending any of its funds to redesign the $1 bill, since the potential cost impact of this change on the vending machine industry would greatly exceed its benefits.



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    vonlettowvonlettow Posts: 42 ✭✭

    This is likely from a press release as it appears almost verbatim in several newspapers. I will look for letters.

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    CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 33,989 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have seen the original metal Great Seal of the United States on display in the State Department building in Washington, D.C.

    Numismatist. 54 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Also won the PNG's Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
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    rooksmithrooksmith Posts: 1,421 ✭✭✭✭✭

    My father was a 32 degree Freemason. He used to say the Great Seal was proof that the founders were Freemason. Washington was, Franklin was and so was Jefferson. Novo Ordo Secularum is Latin for "New Secular Order". Freemasons are essentialy deists. They believe in God, but not the sort of God who answers your prayers. Secular means free from religion, while conversely "Annuit Coeptus" (He favors our undertaking) and the "all seeing" eye above the unfinished pyramid are a nod to the deity. The forefathers thought of the new order as a break from the monarchy and theocracies of the day.

    “When you don't know what you're talking about, it's hard to know when you're finished.” - Tommy Smothers
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    GoldFinger1969GoldFinger1969 Posts: 3,428 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Best to consult the engravers who worked for the BEP. :)

    The legalese on the bills from Gold/Silver Certificates to Small Currency letting you obtain gold (but not a GC)....to references to payment for all debt, public and private....to payment excluding interest on the national debt....all fascinating.

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