The U.S. Great Seal by Erl's Wood Sign Carving

The One Dollar Bill
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The United States One Dollar Bill.

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 actually material.

We've all washed it without it falling apart. A special blend of ink is used, the contents 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, you will see the scales for 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 or decided what we could do for Western Civilization.

The Pyramid is un-capped, 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 on this currency, but that phrase was added in the 1950s during the Red Scare.

Prior to that, none of our paper currency had that phrase.

The Latin above the pyramid, Annuit Coeptis, means, "God has favored our undertaking."

The Latin below the pyramid, Novus Ordo Seclorum, meaans, "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 heroes' monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States, and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people 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. Second, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the King of England.

Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now 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 any 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 bars on that shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, and if you look closely, 13 arrows. And, for minorities: the 13th Amendment.

I always ask people, "Why don't you know this?" Your children don't know this, and their history teachers don't know this.

Too many Veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many Veterans remember coming home to an America that didn't care. Too many Veterans never came home at all.

Note: Special Background Effects Are In These Pages. Use MS EXPLORER 4.01 or NETSCAPE
4.05 Browsers To See. Do Users Of 3.0 and 3.1 Have An Advantage, Even Though They Won't
See Everything? Maybe: Because Loading Might Be Quicker! What Display Resolution Is Best?
Hmmmm...GOOD QUESTION! Mine Is Usually Set At 1024 x 768 Pixels.800 x 600? YES...AND BEST FOR THESE PAGES, TOO!

Coming Soon! Purple Heart Version Of Above"Tribute"

For Better Or Worse, These Pages Were Edited In Microsoft Progams. Oh Well, Yes, There

Are Better Programs, But I Learned HTML In Windows!For The Time Being, What Else Can I Do?

Because my page never loaded correctly in Netscape, I was moved by the "suggestions", below. To see the original effects and what the following refers to, Click USMC option in the "Patch Box", at the bottom of this page.

Currently, I check my pages in Navigator, Communicator and Explorer for quirks and / or special effects.

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Just a couple of suggestions. Do you want your opening table over to the left like that partially on the border? If not, you should use the center command in your table. Also Old Glory should be centered, (just my opinion.) You should put a <UL> tag before your ribbons separator to move it over to the right and make it more centered thus not being partially on your red border.

And lastly the >'s that you have showing for spaces. In your code you have <br>><br>>. If you don't want the >'s showing, just remove the second > after each. I use <CENTER> </CENTER> for vertical spaces. Just my humble opinions bro. Hope you don't take offense. I just try to help. So many don't know some of the coding for HTML (not that I >understand most of it) :-) Hope you have a great weekend. My best,>--->--

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You raise some interesting questions, my friend:

Granted, I am a "hacker" when writing HTML. Yours is very clean! Thank you for the good examples in your works. As time moves, I'll improve.

All of what you refer to is by design and intended, though. At the moment, this page is my "front" and much like a "coat of arms". You can't see me but I sit or stand "behind" the images on your screen and "face" you. Over my right shoulder is "tribute" with flag on the right (most honored position.) Centered, I suppose, keeps a discussion like this from coming up! Anyway in all religions, mythology and the rules in heraldry, the right hand path is the high and the left is low "the way of the seeded earth.." PLEASE CONSIDER the REVERSE IMAGE of the US DOLLAR BILL, above and the relative positions of the images thereon.) When you look at a photogragh of a speaker, which side is our US flag (usually the higher symbol) correctly placed? In a declared war, which way does the eagle face on "THE GREAT SEAL of The UNITED STATES"? Which direction, during so called peacetimes? If you are seeing the US wars ribbon bar as I intended, then the blue stripe on the left (right?) ribbon should center exactly (or maybe 1 pixel off!) on the gold braid. Blue represents "the blues". Scarlet is a special color for all soldiers and because it represents bloodshed and the sacrifice of so many, I believe it is best on the right and touching scarlet. Centered is "touchy feely" okay, but right is the better(just my opinion), my friend!

In radio talk "break", "break" means a change from one call to another, or indicates another of something else follows. On my page "<" or "break" means the same, and in my little opinion, is more interesting to look at than a blank sheet of paper. So many we remember and know are not here, now..."BREAK, BREAK"...as always, though, I'm open to a few better ways to do things! People can do and say as they wish, with personal imagery. It is sacrilegious, I believe, to knowingly misplace or misuse universal symbols of others. Further, I believe, burning "Old Glory" is an evil prayer. IE: like stomping on the bones of the Founders, Patriots and Soldiers. Because this is "The Land of the Free", I believe there should not be a constitutional amendment forbidding it, though.

Thanks, again, for raising the questions. Most assuredly, I'll put something on my pages addressing all of the above or correct what is amiss...BREAK, BREAK...

Stay close,
--Erl Syverstad, USMC

PS: Did you ever read the Sioux medicine wheel story about Jumping Mouse (... READER'S DIGEST... a couple of years back?)

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Joseph Campbell, an illuminating spirit in the study of mythology has much to say in his many books.

My Father, Erling J. Syverstad, was known in his craft ("Jig Builder"), as 1/1000ths Syverstad, because he could read 1000ths between 100ths on a machinist's scale. Sceptics with micrometers, about always, proved him correct! This was an important "talent on loan from God" because he helped build aircraft and other vehicles, we ride in on earth, for The Boeing Airplane Company. Boeing is the largest commercial (private) maker of aircraft in the world and is not a government operation (same as Microsoft), thank God!

Because colors, numbers, positions, symbols, etc...and their relative relationships can, individually, and, or interposed together, indicate higher or lower spiritual traces in works, I work very hard to honor the tremendous works of others.

The great Encyclopedias will provide much background information about all of the above.