A well-travelled banknote

Obverse

I was recently talking with a contact in the United States who wanted to send me a dollar bill. Why? So he could track it and get “WG hits” in as many places as possible. Intrigued, I agreed, and he duly sent me a $1 bill. It’s a well-used one, worn, starting to tear, the edges have been coloured in, and it has a stamp on it which didn’t come from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Following the stamp, WheresGeorge.com is a website where you can enter the serial number of your United States banknotes, and record where you are with them – and see if anyone else has recorded where they were with it previously. It only lists the city and any comments you entered – but just to be sure, I covered the serial on my note in the photo. (I’ve also put the word “SPECIMEN” over the top, just to be clear the image is for informational purposes only).

Here is one of the top travellers I found on the site: Serial# L6031—5A Series: 2001. A one dollar bill from 2001 which the site notes: “This bill has traveled at least 27,775 Miles in 8 Yrs, 242 Days, 16 Hrs, 49 Mins at an average of 8.8 Miles per day. The bill is now 1,528 Miles from its starting location.” As well as various states in the USA, that bill has been to Jamaica, Dominican Republic, St Lucia, Egypt and France:

Here is the map from that banknote.

Tracking notes

I hadn’t encountered this before now, but one thing which has always struck me about things like this in the US is the alteration of currency itself. I mused on this when I wrote about the US Penny with Cross cut-out previously. And in that piece, I mentioned various movements putting stamps on banknotes, from Trump, to Stamp money out of politics, to climate change. WheresGeorge then is another “currency altering” movement to add to the list. StampStampede.org‘s interpretation of the US Criminal Code is that you can’t advertise a business on a banknote but you CAN put a political message on one.

Close up of the stamp on the bill. Note also the series – 2013. From the Numista page, I worked out that FW means this was printed at Fort Worth, Texas, and the secretary of the treasury was Jacob Joseph Lew (JJL) when this note was printed. But I must admit I haven’t found a good reference for the B 107, or the 2.

I know in Australia you cannot write on a banknote AT ALL regardless of why. So I assumed WheresGeorge was a curiously American phenomenon. But I was wrong.

In researching this, I found an Australian site doing exactly the same thing with Australian notes. MoneyTracker.com.au does basically the same thing, although without the slick stamps. Instead, one of the most popular forums on that site is on how to spread the word. And one of the most popular posts on there is on what is and isn’t legal.

Their about page also links to other sites in Europe, and another, Canada, and another there too. And a link to an open directory (which didn’t work when I tried).

Reverse

Numista doesn’t really do the reverse of the note justice. It describes it as “Great Seal of the United States around ONE.” I was thinking, I’ve seen the eagle design on the right before, but I’ve never fully appreciated the pyramid on the left? It turns out that is the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States. It features a truncated pyramid topped by the eye of providence. Adopted in 1782, the pyramid has 13 layers, in reference to the original 13 states. Unfinished, to allow for future growth. The eye of providence is said to represent God’s benevolent oversight. But there are plenty of conspiracy theories, if you’re into that.

The symbolism of the design is said to mean: “The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration: The Eye over it & the Motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favour of the American cause. The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence and the words under it signify the beginning of the new American Æra, which commences from that date.”

Have you ever found a banknote with a stamp, or used a banknote tracking website? It seems there is a whole community of enthusiasts out there, so hello to you! Do pop a note in the comments and say hi!