Imagery in Currency
Share This
For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard conspiracy theories about the hidden symbols and their meanings in our currency. Outlandish as some of the claims may seem, scholars and skeptical observers alike have taken these claims seriously, and have studied money with an eye toward what these symbols might be trying to tell us. Theories on the matter range from latent Satanic content to religious symbolism to plots for world domination, all originating from pictures and words buried in printed and coined money. Today we will look beneath the surface and examine eight of the more known hidden symbols etched into our currency and the supposed implications they may in fact have.
9/11 on the $20
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 gave new life to conspiracy theorists everywhere. In addition to claiming that the U.S. government orchestrated or allowed the attacks to occur, some have also speculated that the $20 bill contains a forewarning of the attacks. According to this theory (purported by www.foldmoney.com) all one needs to do is fold the bill in half, fold the back left up, fold the back right up, and turn the entire bill over to see a picture that eerily resembles the World Trade Center towers going up in smoke. Critics argue that any likeness is coincidental, but it does look pretty creepy at first glance.
Owl on the $1
While too small to see in the photo above, the image about five paragraphs down on this Unexplainable.net page reveals what appears to be a hidden owl on the $1 bill. Conspiracy theorists are divided on exactly what this owl (if it is in fact an owl) might be meant to communicate. The folks at Jesus-Is-Savior.com contend that the owl is a remnant of the devil, expressing Satanic meanings through currency. Others, like TheForbiddenKnowledge.com, see a more contemporary meaning, stating that recent presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, “…have been caught with a camera flashing the horned owl symbol with their hands.”
Spider on the $1
Another popular theory about the U.S. dollar bill is the hidden spider allegedly lurking down at the bottom of the front. Weird and creepy as it may seem to have a creature like this tucked away in our currency, the above Metacafe video entitled “Find The Hidden Spider on the Dollar Bill” zooms in up close and reveals what could in theory be interpreted as a hidden spider. While this theory has its fair share of critics, it also has quite a strong following of supporters, some of whom believe the spider is evidence of a past or upcoming alien invasion. With 2012 fast approaching, we may finally be close to seeing whether they are right.
The all-seeing eye
No other imagery from currency is more frequently scrutinized than the “all-seeing eye” on the back of the dollar bill. Bordered by the Latin words “annuit coeptis” (loosely translated as “he approves of our undertakings”), the eye atop the split pyramid has been ascribed many possible meanings by scholars, historians and conspiracy theorists. One popular meaning is, of course, that the eye represents the control that governments or the ruling elite have over the masses. Others argue the eye bears resemblance to the CBS and America Online corporate logos, perhaps indicating a collusion between government and big business to keep tabs on citizens. Other theorists suggest that the eye and the split pyramid are both Freemason symbols which suggest a secret society pulling the nation by its puppet strings. Still another explanation is that the eye is actually the eye of ancient Egyptian god Horus.
The Great (Masonic?) Seal of the United States
The Great Seal of the United States contains is rife with Masonic symbolism, according to many scholars and skeptics. Take as just one example the nine feathers beneath the eagle, thought by some to represent nine spheres rising through to return to heaven. Freemasonrywatch.com for instance, contends that the thirty-two feathers on the eagle’s dexter wing is the, “…number of ordinary degrees in Scottish Rite Freemasonry.” Additionally, it is said that the clothed eagle symbolizes “the union of French and American Masons in the strugle for Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.” Accompanying these theories is the fact that known Freemasons such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson assisted in designing the seal, leading to endless speculation about just what they were trying to get across by emblazoning it across U.S. currency.
Illuminati on British £50
Much has been made of Mason imagery in U.S. currency, and some believe secret meanings are hidden in the designs of foreign currency as well. A recent example is the British £50 bill, which displays a pyramid lacking a capstone in a similar fashion to the U.S. $1 bill. To some, this constitutes evidence of esoteric Mason/Illuminati symbolism in British currency, perhaps pointing to a worldwide conspiracy by these secret societies to envelop the world in their far-reaching plots for global control and domination. Since Great Britain and the U.S. are so closely linked in history, it is not too far of a stretch for a conspiracy theorist to imagine a connection between the symbols on each nation’s currency.
MDCCLXXVI
This image was displayed earlier in reference to the all-seeing eye, but turn your attention this time to the MDCCLXXVI engraved into the base of the pyramid. According to GreatSeal.com, this simply translates to “1776″, the year the Declaration of Independence was signed. However, it has also been suggested that 1776 was chosen because it was the year of the Illuminati’s founding – again, referring to a possible connection between the Illimunati and its attempts to establish a New World Order. Its location at the base of the pyramid could indicate that Illuminati approval is fundamental to the progression of American society (or so it is suggested.)
E Pluribus Unum
Seen on U.S. coins and bills alike, the Latin phrase “E Pluribus Unum” is translated to mean “of many, one.” The general agreement among historians and scholars is that this refers to the thirteen U.S. colonies deciding to come together and join as a single united nation in response to attacks by Great Britain during the late 1700’s. The first use of this phrase in U.S. currency was on the now-defunct $5 Half Eagle gold piece, in 1795. While it was removed from new currency beginning in 1834, E Pliribus Unum re-emerged permanently in 1866 and has been a fixture on US currency ever since.
Organize your financial life.
Use Mint.com to see where your money goes, get bill reminders and alerts, track your investment performance, and find extra savings. It’s FREE!
Find Out MoreHow Mint Can Help
See Where You Spend
Mint.com auto-categorizes all of your transactions so you’ll always know where your money goes. Find out more »
Popular Articles
5 Comments so far
leave a commentHey MintLife,
I usually like your blog but this post is poorly-written and irresponsible. It has the substance and references of a 7th grader’s history class essay, as if the author simply googled “dollar bill conspiracy” and cited the top 10 links. There are many interesting stories behind the imagery on currency. Twenty minutes of research in legitimate academic resources would provide enough of a variety to make this an interesting and substantiative survey of current theories.
Also you misspelled “pluribus” (as “pliribus”) in the last sentence.
(M-D+C) + (C-L+X) + (X-V+I) = ?
“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
coincidence? :-}
Is this just a coincidence or is the future already predicted and is embedded somewhere in our daily use such as the money?
Great read, you can always learn something new about forex!
The US Treasury has a nickname for the ’spider’, but it was so long ago I can’t remember what it was.
As to the spider itself, it’s an optical illusion. All that fancy spirograph looking lines that make it harder to forge (nicknamed cobwebs) are what cause the effect. Well, that and the border line the spider is sitting on. If you look at the pattern and follow the arcs of the lines, you’ll see the spider is nothing more than the end/edge of part of the design having been visually cut off from the rest of the cobweb by the border line.
Short version of this is easy, your eyes are playing tricks on you.
Now if you really want to see something unexpected, get a really strong magnifier and check out the upper parts (lintel?) of the washington monument on an older $5 bill. In the office, we had an old microfiche machine we used for that. You might be surprised at the tiny writing on that bill. Just a note, the new $5s have it much larger and you don’t even need a magnifier to read it.
Have fun, and stop jumping on the conspiracy bandwagon. 99% of the time, it’s just somebodies paranoid imagination running away with them. (Oh yes, the 9/11 thing, it looks far more like male genitalia than the twin towers, with or without smoke… Though my first impression was a tree by picasso. Just my opinion.)