Myth and Misinformation about the Great Seal's Eagle Side and the Pyramid Side America's Great Seal is the official sign of sovereignty of the United States – not a monetary symbol. It was created a century and a half before its two sides first appeared on the one-dollar bill. George Washington is also on the dollar bill. Should we use him as a monetary symbol? We know Washington was not that colorless two-dimensional character we see on the front of the dollar. We know he was a living person with a strong personality and a colorful history. We know, because in school we learned about the Father of Our Country. But what were we taught about the Emblem of our country? Most Americans know very little about the symbol that represents them and their nation, and often what they do know is incorrect. Even our best-educated citizens don't know the meaning of the Great Seal's three Latin mottoes. Ask the smartest person you know (after betting them a dollar). For example, the American Bald Eagle on the front of the Great Seal has always faced the olive branch in its right talon. It was the eagle on the Seal of the President that used to look the other way. • Recognize myth and misinformation about the Eagle side. The Pyramid & Eye on the reverse side was not designed by Freemasons. What's more, this misunderstood symbol is becoming a casualty of lore: abused by fiction writers; commandeered by conspiracy theorists; trivialized by the media as a background image on the evening financial news. • Recognize myth and misinformation about the Pyramid & Eye side. Lighten up with American history bloopers World history bloopers Other Sections of GreatSeal.com Preliminary Designs suggested by three committees Symbols on the Seal's two sides Mottoes of the Great Seal Front page overview