United States one-dollar bill

For the US one-dollar coin, see United States dollar coin.

Obverse of the $1 bill

Reverse of the $1 bill

The United States one-dollar bill ($1) is the most common denomination of US currency. The first president, George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart, is currently featured on the obverse, while the Great Seal of the United States is featured on the reverse. The one-dollar bill has the second oldest design of all U.S. currency currently being produced, after the two-dollar bill. The obverse seen today debuted in 1963 when the $1 bill first became a Federal Reserve Note.

The inclusion of "In God We Trust" on all currency was required by law in 1955. The national motto first appeared on paper money in 1957.

An individual dollar bill is also less formally known as a one, a single or a bone.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing says the average life of a $1 bill in circulation is 21 months before it is replaced due to wear. Approximately 45% of all U.S. currency produced today are one-dollar bills. All $1 bills produced today are Federal Reserve Notes. One-dollar bills are delivered by Federal Reserve Banks in blue straps.

History

Large size notes

First $1 bill issued in 1862 as a Legal Tender Note

(approximately 7.4218 × 3.125 in ≅ 189 × 79 mm)

• 1862: The first one-dollar bill was issued as a Legal Tender Note (United States Note) with a portrait of Salmon P. Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln.
• 1869: The $1 United States Note was redesigned with a portrait of George Washington in the center and a vignette of Christopher Columbus sighting land to the left. The obverse of the note also featured green and blue tinting. Although this note is technically a United States Note, TREASURY NOTE appeared on it instead of UNITED STATES NOTE.
• 1874: The Series of 1869 United States Note was revised. Changes on the obverse included removing the green and blue tinting, adding a red floral design around the word WASHINGTON D.C., and changing the term TREASURY NOTE to UNITED STATES NOTE. The reverse was completely redesigned. This note was also issued as Series of 1875 and 1878.
• 1880: The red floral design around the words ONE DOLLAR and WASHINGTON D.C. on the United States Note was removed and replaced with a large red seal. later versions also had blue serial numbers and a small seal moved to the left side of the note.
• 1886: The first woman to appear on U.S. currency, Martha Washington, was featured on the $1 Silver Certificate. The reverse of the note featured an ornate design which occupied the entire note, excluding the borders.

Series of 1886 $1 Silver Certificate featuring Martha Washington

• 1890: One-dollar Treasury or "Coin Notes" were issued for government purchases of silver bullion from the silver mining industry. The reverse featured the large word ONE in the center surrounded by an ornate design which occupied almost the entire note.
• 1891: The reverse of the Series of 1890 Treasury Note was redesigned because the treasury felt that it was too "busy" which would make it too easy to counterfeit. More open space was incorporated into the new design, the obverse was largely unchanged.
• 1891: While the reverse with Martha Washington remained largely unchanged, the reverse of the $1 Silver Certificate was redesigned. More open space was incorporated into the new design.
• 1896: The famous "Educational Series" Silver Certificate was issued. The entire obverse was covered with artwork of allegorical figures representing "history instructing youth" in front of Washington D.C. The reverse featured portraits of George and Martha Washington surrounded by an ornate design which occupied almost the entire note.

Famous 1896 "Educational Series" $1 Silver Certificate

• 1899: The $1 Silver Certificate was again redesigned. The obverse featured a vignette of the United States Capitol behind a Bald Eagle perched on an American flag. Below that were small portraits of Abraham Lincoln to the left and Ulysses S. Grant to the right.
• 1917: The obverse of the $1 United States Note was changed slightly with the removal of ornamental frames which surrounded the serial numbers.
• 1918: The only large-sized, Federal Reserve Note-like $1 bill was issued as a Federal Reserve Bank Note (not to be confused with Federal Reserve Notes). Each note was an obligation of the issuing Federal Reserve Bank and could only be redeemed at that corresponding bank. The obverse of the note featured a borderless portrait of George Washington to the left and wording in the entire center. The reverse featured a Bald Eagle in flight clutching an American Flag.
• 1923: Both the one-dollar United States Note and Silver Certificate were redesigned. Both notes featured the same reverse and an almost identical obverse with the same border design and portrait of George Washington. The only difference between the two notes was the color of ink used for the numeral 1 crossed by the word DOLLAR, treasury seal, and serial numbers along with the wording of the obligations. These dollar bills were the first and only large-size notes with a standardized design for different types of notes of the same denomination; this same concept would later be used on small-size notes.

Small size notes

First small-sized $1 bill which was issued as a Silver Certificate

Common reverse of $1 Silver Certificates (Series of 1928-1934) and $1 United States Notes (Series of 1928)

(6.14 × 2.61 × 0.0043 in = 155.956 × 66.294 mm × 0.10922 mm)

In 1929, all currency was changed to its current size. The first one-dollar bills were issued as Silver Certificates and legal Tender Notes under Series of 1928. For these silver Certificates, the treasury seal and serial numbers on it were dark blue. The obverse was nearly identical to the Series of 1923 $1 Silver Certificate, but the treasury seal featured spikes around it and a large gray ONE to the left replaced the blue "1 DOLLAR". The reverse, too, had the same border design as the Series of 1923 $1 bill, but the center featured a large ornate ONE superimposed by ONE DOLLAR. These $1 Silver Certificates were issued until 1934. Legal Tender notes differed only slightly from silver certificates, the seal was red and there was diffrent wording on the obverse of the note. These $1 Legal tender notes were only made for 1928.

In 1933, $1 United States Notes were issued to supplement the supply of $1 Silver Certificates. Its treasury seal and serial numbers were red. However, a month after their production, it was realized that there would be no real need for these notes and production was stopped. A small number of these $1 bills entered circulation and the rest were kept in treasury vaults until 1949 when they were issued in Puerto Rico.

In 1934, the design of the $1 Silver Certificate was changed to reflect the Silver Purchase Act of 1934. Under Washington's portrait, ONE SILVER DOLLAR was changed to ONE DOLLAR. The treasury seal was moved to the right and superimposed over ONE, and a blue numeral 1 was added to the left. The reverse remained the same.

A year later, in 1935, the design of the one-dollar bill was changed again. On the obverse, the blue numeral 1 was changed to gray and made smaller, the gray ONE to the right was removed, the treasury seal was made smaller and superimposed by WASHINGTON D.C., and a stylized ONE DOLLAR was added over the treasury seal. The reverse was also changed to its current design, except for the absence of IN GOD WE TRUST.

Special issue $1 Silver Certificate for Allied troops in North Africa

World War II brought about special issues of one-dollar bills in 1942. Special $1 Silver Certificates were issued for Hawaii in case of a Japanese invasion. HAWAII was printed vertically on the left and right side of the obverse and also horizontally across the reverse. The seal and serial numbers were changed to brown. Special Silver Certificates were also issued as payment for Allied troops in North Africa about to begin their assault into Europe. The only difference on these one-dollar bills was a yellow instead of blue seal. Both of these types of notes could be declared worthless if they fell into enemy hands.

The next change came in 1957 when the $1 bill became the first piece of U.S. currency to bear the motto IN GOD WE TRUST; it was added over the word ONE on the reverse. Initially the BEP began printing the motto on notes which were printed with the new 32 note press, but soon Series of 1935G bills printed on a 16 note press featured the motto.

The final production of $1 Silver Certificates occurred in late 1963. In 1964 the redemption of Silver Certificates for silver coin ended and in 1968 the redemption of Silver Certificates for silver bullion ended.

Production of one-dollar Federal Reserve Notes was undertaken in late 1963 to replace the soon-to-be obsolete $1 Silver Certificate. The design on the reverse remained the same, but the border design on the obverse was completely redesigned and the serial numbers and treasury seal were printed in green ink. This was the first time the one-dollar bill was printed as a Federal Reserve Note.

In 1969 the $1 bill began using the new treasury seal with wording in English instead of Latin. Excluding the signatures and series date, the design of the one-dollar bill has remained the same ever since then.

Though bill denominations of $5 and higher have been redesigned twice since 1995 as part of ongoing anti-counterfeiting efforts, there are currently no plans to redesign the $1 bill.

Experimental issues

Main article: Web notes

Over numerous years the one-dollar bill has served as the exclusive circulating denomination of several experiments.

The first experiment was conducted in January and February 1933 to test different ratios of cotton and linen used in the paper of dollar bills. Series of 1928A and 1928B $1 Silver Certificates with serial number block letters X-B and Y-B were used as the experimental group; the Z-B block was used as the control group. Test results were inconclusive.

Another test was done in 1937 which was similar in style to the 1933 experiment. This test used Series 1935 one-dollar bills. The particular notes used in this experiment can be identified by their serial numbers. Notes ranging from A00000001B–A06180000B and B00000001B–B03300000B were the experimental group and notes ranging from C00000001B–C03300000B were part of the control group. No conclusive results were found.

A more well-known test was done in 1942 during World War II to test alternative types of paper; this was a precautionary measure in case the current type of paper supply could not be maintained. Series 1935A notes made of the special paper were printed with a red "S" to the right of the treasury seal and notes of the control group were printed with a red "R". Fake red S's and R's have been applied to regular Series 1935A notes to try and pass them at a higher value; checking a note's serial numbers can prevent this. Serial numbers of the R group range from S70884001C–S7206800C and serial numbers of the S group range from S73884001C–S7506800C.

One-dollar bills were again the subject of experimentation in May 1992 when the BEP began to test a web-fed Intaglio printing press. Because of a need for greater quantities of $1 FRN's, the BEP sent out a REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) (year 1985) NO. BEP-85-73 to procure a web-fed intaglio printing press to drastically increase the production of currency notes within the confines of their current (1985) 14th & C street facility. Instead of printing one side of a square sheet of 32 notes at a time, the web-fed press used 96 engraved images or plate-cylinder to print the back of the note, then another 96 image engraved plate-cylinder to print the front of the note. Both sides of notes were printed from a continuous roll of paper. The Alexander-Hamilton intaglio Web press printed both sides of intaglio at the same time. The web-press was actually designed as a full-blown production press as opposed to an experimental press. The notes were issued in Series 1988A, 1993, and 1995. Because of mechanical problems, operator error, as well as the sometimes poor quality of the notes, production was ended in July 1996. Web notes can be identified by the back plate number next to IN GOD WE TRUST and the removal of face check letters and quadrant numbers.

Obverse of current $1 bill

Detail of the Treasury Seal as it appears on a $1 bill

Example Federal Reserve Bank Seal (for San Francisco) as it appears on a $1 bill

The portrait of George Washington is displayed in the center of the obverse of the one-dollar bill, as it has been since the 1869 design. The oval containing George Washington is propped up by bunches of Bay Laurel leaves.

To the left of George Washington is the Federal Reserve District Seal. The name of the Federal Reserve Bank that issued the note encircles a capital letter, (A-L), identifying it among the twelve Federal Reserve Banks. The sequential number of the bank, (1: A, 2: B, etc.), is also displayed in the four corners of the open space on the bill. Until the redesign of the higher denominations of currency beginning in 1996, this seal was found on all denominations of Federal Reserve Notes. Since then it is only present on the $1 and $2 notes, with the higher denominations only displaying a universal Federal Reserve System seal, and the bank letter and number beneath the serial number.

To the right of George Washington is the Treasury Department seal. The balancing scales represent justice. The chevron with thirteen stars represents the original thirteen colonies. The key below the chevron represents authority and trust; 1789 is the year that the Department of the Treasury was established.

Below the FRD seal (to the left of George Washington) is the signature of the Treasurer of the U.S., which occasionally varies, and below the USDT Seal (right side) is the Secretary of the Treasury's signature. To the left of the Secretary's signature is the series date. A new series date will result from a change in the Secretary of the Treasury, the Treasurer of the United States, and/or a change to the note's appearance such as a new currency design.

On the edges are olive branches entwined around the 1's.

Reverse of current $1 bill

President Franklin Roosevelt's conditional approval of the one-dollar bill's design in 1935, requiring that the appearance of the sides of the Great Seal be reversed, and together, captioned.

The reverse of the one-dollar bill has an ornate design which incorporates both sides of the Great Seal of the United States to the left and right of the word "ONE". This word appears prominently in the white space at the center of the bill in a capitalized, shadowed, and seriffed typeface. A smaller image of the word "ONE" is superimposed over the numeral "1" in each of the four corners of the bill.

"THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" spans the top of the bill, "ONE DOLLAR" is emblazoned along the bottom, and above the central "ONE" are the words "IN GOD WE TRUST," which became the official motto of the United States in 1956. Below the reverse of the Great Seal on the left side of the bill are the words "THE GREAT SEAL," and below the obverse on the right side are the words "OF THE UNITED STATES." Both reverse and obverse of the Great Seal contain symbols of historical, political, religious, and numerological significance.

The Great Seal, originally designed in 1782 and added to the dollar bill's design in 1935, is surrounded by an elaborate floral design. The renderings used were the typical official government versions used since the 1880s.

The reverse of the seal on the left features a barren landscape dominated by an unfinished pyramid of 13 steps, topped by the Eye of Providence within a triangle. At the base of the pyramid are engraved the Roman numerals MDCCLXXVI (1776), the date of American independence from Britain. At the top of the seal stands a Latin phrase , "ANNUIT COEPTIS," meaning "He (God) favors our undertaking." At the bottom of the seal is a semicircular banner proclaiming "NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM" meaning "New Order of the Ages," which is a reference to the new American era. To the left of this seal, a string of 13 pearls extends toward the edge of the bill.

The obverse of the seal on the right features a bald eagle, the national bird and symbol of the United States. Above the eagle is a radiant cluster of 13 stars arranged in a six-pointed star. The eagle's breast is covered by a heraldic shield with 13 stripes that resemble those on the American flag. As on the first US flag, the stars and stripes stand for the 13 original states of the union. The eagle holds a ribbon in its beak reading "E PLURIBUS UNUM", a Latin phrase meaning "Out of many [states], one [nation]," a de facto motto of the United States (and the only one until 1956). In its left talons the eagle holds 13 arrows, and in its right talons it holds an olive branch with 13 leaves and 13 olives, representing, respectively, the powers of war and peace. To the right of this seal, a string of 13 pearls extends toward the edge of the bill.

Conspiracy

The symbology of the Great Seal of the United States, and its subsequent use on the dollar bill (especially the pyramid and the Eye of Providence above the pyramid) are popular topics among conspiracy theorists. Conspiracy theorists are of the opinion that much of the symbolism involves occultism. For example, because the Eye of Providence above the unfinished pyramid is similar to the ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus, a charm, relating to the Pagan/Egyptian sky-god Horus which symbolized that worshipers will be protected and given royal powers from Pagan deities. In fact, Eye of Providence was a common Christian emblem symbolizing the Trinity throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Conspiracy theorists also note that the unfinished pyramid has thirteen steps (or that some other element of the Seal numbers thirteen), and are of the opinion that the number 13 has conspiratorial significance. The explanation for the repetition of the number thirteen is that this number represents the original thirteen colonies which became the first thirteen states. One unexplained symbolism on the reverse side of the One Dollar Bill, is the 13 stars above the eagle, which can be connected to form the Star of David, which is also the symbol of the flag of israel.

Replacement of the dollar bill

There are organizations specifically aimed at either preventing (Save the Greenback) or advocating (Coin Coalition) the complete elimination of the United States one-dollar bill in favor of the dollar coin, with or without increased production of the two-dollar bill.

See also

• Where's George?
• In God We Trust
• George Washington

References

• Official 2006 Blackbook Price Guide to United States Paper Money (38th edition)
• Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money 17th edition published by Krause Publications
• The Official RED BOOK A Guide Book of United States Paper Money
• Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money

External links

• Various U.S. BEP money facts