Customer Reviews

The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill

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Having spent decades researching and depicting elements of America's Great Seal in my paintings and murals, and also writing and teaching about these symbols, I can say without question that David Ovason has created THE most profound work on this topic ever to see the light of day. His scholarship and genius in The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill are unparalleled in this most under-appreciated and misunderstood area of America's history and meaning. It has shed great light on the deeper mysteries of America's spirit and destiny and the New Order of the Ages.

Ovason is an excellent scholar and does not present speculation as fact. When he is not 100% sure of something, he tells you, which is greatly appreciated.

Among other things, this book will tell you in what ways Sir Francis Bacon's New Atlantis was linked to the colonization of America... What magical symbols are found on the dollar bill... The origin of the word dollar... The origin of the symbol for the dollar... How the original dollar name can be linked with a holy number... Whether the dollar symbol was derived from astrology... Who were the Freemasons that designed the dollar bill of 1935... Why the eye in the triangle in the dollar bill was changed from a right eye to a left eye... The origin of America's name and why the letter A is among the most magical of all letters.

Did the designers and proposers of these magical symbols know what they were doing? Were they aware of their magical content? Read this book and decide for yourself.

This book delves into the secret symbolism that is hidden in plain sight in the common, ubiquitous dollar bill. The author has definitely done his homework. I appreciated being able to glean information about the hidden occultism that is embedded in the modern dollar bill.

There are a few problems with the book, however. One is that instead of being a solid, fluid text, the book is broken into numbered, brief sections.

The more pressing problem, however, is that the book does not truly describe accurately the meaning of many of these symbols. The author brushes over occult meanings, attributing almost everything to Christianity, which is most certainly not the case. The author sort of plays down the occultism inherent in the dollar bill, and explains everything with euphemism rather than truth. I finished the book quickly and was quite disappointed with the conclusions presented in the book, which I feel were designed to misguide the reader rather than inform them.

I got this book through interlibrary loan at my public library, and I was very excited to read it, since I have recently become quite interested in arcane symbolism. I understood Ovason was an expert in the field, so I had quite high expectations for this book . . . and unfortunately, it just didn't meet them.

Though he made some neat points here and there, his writing style was generally bland and uninviting. The majority of the symbolic interpretations seemed forced and mundane, at best. And like another reviewer pointed out: the more I read, the more I couldn't shake the feeling that this may have been done on purpose, as if to divert people's attention from the real, deeper meanings behind the symbolism. I would certainly encourage people to read it for themselves and reach their own conclusions. After all, it was not a bad book. It just left me very disappointed.

Get out your magnifying glass and a dollar bill and have some fun. David Ovason has succeeded in setting forth many strange and wondrous facts about the "ordinary" U.S. dollar bill. There is indeed a lot of amazing symbolism and numerology, much of it Masonic or perhaps Rosicrucian, on this Federal Reserve Note (by the way, I have to point out that the Fed Bank is privately owned, a fact omitted by Ovason). The author seems not to know that the Masons are anti-Christian; he never mentions the Rosicrucians (who are pro-Christian), but finds the magical number 33 in several places on the dollar bill, which corresponds with the number of years Jesus is said to have lived on Earth. Occasionally he fails to follow through on some of his discoveries; for example, so what if there are 55 dots and 25 lines in the "glory" surrounding the "constellation" over the eagle on the obverse? Ovason does not point out the numerological significance, if there is any, to 55 and 25. An oddity is that in item 30, on page 37, he mentions the official design for the national flag to have 13 stars, and yet the book is illustrated on this page with a flag of 12 stars. Then, the idea that the constellation Lyra, the Lyre, somehow represents America is questionable; since Lyra in fact has only 10 stars (although Ovason never mentions this fact). Some of his straightedge tricks, on page 75 e.g., do not seem to work out in the real world. He makes an interesting point or two that tend to confirm that the numerology was deliberately designed into the bill and is not just a figment of some modern numerologist's overheated imagination: for example, he says the old Latin motto was properly "Ex pluribus unum," which was modified to the less usual usage of "E pluribus unum" to achieve the count of 13 letters in the motto; similarly "Novus ordo saeclorum" was modified to the less usual "Novus ordo seclorum" to achieve the count of 17 letters for numerological reasons that he goes on to explain. Ovason has discovered that there are 33 words or groups of numbers on the obverse (p 115; be sure to count the tiny number, usually overlooked, to the "southeast" of the big ONE), and that there are nine "units" to the large word "ONE" with 11 shadow units, numerologically significant numbers. What makes this convincing to me (not mentioned by Ovason) is the fact that the two smallest shadow units are totally unnecessary to the artistic design, in fact they are obtrusive once you notice them (they look a bit like apostrophes, and you would probably not notice them if you were not looking for them), so they have to have been deliberately planted into the pattern. (It is too bad the designer of the 1935 dollar bill, Edward M. Weeks, evidently never set forth in writing the symbolism he went to such lengths to put into his product.) On page 114 he says the letters USA appear on the back of the dollar bill 26 times; what he means is that the letters U, S and A taken separately appear 26 times in total. However, I see no significance to this number. If there is any, he does not tell us what it is. "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ONE DOLLAR" has 37 letters, which does have a numerological significance (page 114). Then there is the business of the pyramid; according to our author, there are 202 surviving courses in the Great Pyramid of Gizeh (said to be the model for the pyramid on the dollar bill). Seven more courses, at the top, including the capstone, are missing or fragmentary, whatever that means. That would make 209 courses total in the intact pyramid. But some say it was 221, or, as on page 88, 211. Be that as it may (a topic for future investigation?), the highest surviving course is "nine massy stones" plus "two that are wanting at the angles" or 11 stones. Someone is bound to eventually claim there is some link between this number and the terrorist incidents of 9-11-2001, itself a rich field of numerological study. Anyway, this lavishly illustrated little tome will provide anyone who loves symbols with hours of educational entertainment, and ammunition for many a conversation or bet when the cocktail hour rolls around.

This little book makes entertaining reading. It is certainly not the type of stuff that a lot of people really care about,even when some of the things the author comes up with,are pointed out.There is, without doubt, a great deal of symbolism incorporated into the design of the dollar bill.What it all means,why it was put there,where and why it originated can be studied and debated endlessly. What this author does is delve into history,magic,ancient writings and just about anything he can come up with to apply to anything in order to come up with some great hidden meaning or plan. When he comes up short on proof,he adeptly turn to numerology,and plays with numbers until he gets a "fit " of any sort.If none is found,all one has to do is to drop the item and go look for something else.

Obviously the author puts great stock in numerology and it provides him with lots of answers.He goes to great lengths to show the importance of 13 on the bill.However things that don't relate to 13 are just ignored. For instance;

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA------24 letters,not 13 or even a multiple.

Washington,D.C. ------12letters,not 13;if counting the comma and

periods ;oops 15,too many. Forget that,try

something else.

THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS,PUBLIC AND PRIVATE--47 letters;

can't do much there. 4+7=11,nope! How about

4+7+1+1;what do you know? Maybe we're on to

something.

FEDERAL RESERVE NOTE---Oops! 18 letters. 1+8=9;Nah!

Now what about this? On the front there are 4 large 1 numerals in the corners.But wait,two are large and two are small;but the four on the back are all the same size but unlike either on the front.Then consider that each on the front is enclosed in a shield,but each different.There must be some sinister,or at least magical connotation to be found here.

Oh well,a fun read ,if you like this sort of stuff;but I'm afraid you will come away with more question than answers. Maybe if you take up numerology you might convince yourself of some of this stuff.Too bad the UFO types don't go there,maybe the key to their search can be found in the "Numbers" .Just in case you think I'm a non-believer;don't jump to conclusions. I believe in the "Tooth Fairy" and she left a quarter under my pillow.

Anyway,a fun read on a hot,muggy summer afternoon

I bought the book because I wanted all the information I had come across about the Dollar bill in one accesable place. The information was interesting and there was a good history of those aspects covered. The format is rather encyclopedic rather than a readable book but easy to browse through all the same. BUT one of the areas I was interested in was the Owl hidden in the top Right hand courner but there was nothing and I found this disaapointing as it is a well known graphic hidden in the note

"The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill," David Ovason, NY Perennial Currents (HarperCollins), 2005, ISBN: 0-06-053044-8, PC 192 pgs (40 pg. Notes, 7 pg. Intro., Table Contents), 8" x 5 1/4"

A student of Nostradamus & symbologist teaching astrology (? any credentials?), author Ovason's prior book(s) includes "The Secret Architecture of Our Nation's Capital." (I'd use capitol). Here, he "details" the (One) Dollar Bill, Great Seal, Stars, Eye of Providence, "America", Mottoes, The Pyramid, Magic Numbers, The Eagle, & "Deeper Mysteries Behind the Dollar Bill." Ovason provides a fair historical rendition of the various designs & re-designs that led to the currently issued $1.00 bill whose intrinsic features have some bases in Latin, Egyptian, Hebrew, Masonic Order, & numerology. He provides 40 pages of Notes to bolster his essay - though I believe much of the "magical" positioning & location of items is consequential to excellence in artistic design skills of engravers, etc. His discourse on the derivation of the mottoes is informative, but not especially new.

Ovason's writing style abounds in tautology, but perhaps such diabtribes are ncessary with symbolism -- i.e., the finding of embodiments of magical numbers, mythologies & secret societive encryption's on the Dollar Bill designed over 200 years ago. The book is an interesting bumpy read, can give rise to interesting small talk if normal social intercourse falters such as "is it a left or a right eye on the cap of the pyramid?", or "what kind & how many arrows are held by the eagle?"or "how many tail feathers does the eagle have?" & lastly "is it really an eagle or Phoenix bird?"

In our Post-Modern America we might also ask if the motto "In God We Trust" is politically insensitive & ought to be replaced with "In Gold We Trust?" I hope not, but do wish the dollar bill was worth more. I'm reminded of the fact that "they still make the nickel beer but now they charge you a dollar," is a justifiable deraileur based on author's final sentence on book's back cover saying upon reading this book..."You will find that the dollar in your wallet is worth so much more than what you can buy with it." Like beer, the book's price is bubbly but not intoxicating.

The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill by David Ovason was an interesting read for about 10 minutes. I did not "purchase" my copy rather it was in a "bundled" package with the DVD National Treasure from BJ's.

I am glad that I received this book "Free", because it was not very "scholastic" and I would have been extremely disappointed and upset. I realize that National Treasure is a family movie. However, unlike the movie, this book cannot be understood and enjoyed on various levels.

The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill is a picture book with some explainations. Granted, it does have some interesting facts and references. Perhaps, on a postive note, this book can be used as a reference for a 3-5th grader doing a mini-report on US Currency.

My overall advice is: "Unless you are purchasing this for a 5-8yr old child -- save your $$ and get this at the public library!!!"

~FallenMoon

Learn all about the Occultic Jewish and Freemason symbols on the dollar bill. The slave owning Freemason scumbags that founded America have flaunted their planned new world order for centuries.