Happy Dollar Day! Yes, today is National Dollar Day, commemorating the establishment of the monetary system by Congress on August 8, 1786. The original document of the resolution says, “Resolved, that the standard of the United States of America, for gold and silver, shall be eleven parts fine and one part alloy …”1 The document goes on to provide finer details concerning silver and gold.
The first actual dollar bill wouldn’t be printed until 1862. Whose face adorned the $1 bill? If you said George Washington, you are — wrong! It was the face of the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase. Washington would not become the face of the dollar bill until Series 1869 United States Notes.2 Here are some other interesting facts about the dollar bill:
- If you had 10 billion $1 notes and spent one every second of every day, it would require 317 years for you to go broke.
- Because the $1 note is infrequently counterfeited, the government has no plans to redesign this note. In addition, there is a recurring provision in Section 116 of the annual Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act that prohibits the redesign of the $1 note.
- All U.S. currency remains legal tender, regardless of when it was issued.3
In other words, if you still had one of those original 1862-dollar bills, you could use it to make a purchase in Walmart. However, that would not be a wise thing to do. If they were willing to accept it as payment, you would only get the worth of $1. Depending on its condition, though, it could be worth between $100 to over $850.
Now, here’s something even more remarkable to consider. The very things we valued the most in this world will be burned up or used for pavement in eternity!
Revelation 21:9-10 says, “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. (10) And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God … Revelation 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every
several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”
What about all that paper money? Gone! Burned up in the purging fires as the Lord creates the New Heavens and the New Earth.
Here’s a thought. God gave those things to us on this Earth. Something has always been used as currency. But they were intended to be tools, not things to greedily hoard. The billionaire dies and enters eternity with the exact same amount of money in their pockets as the beggar. It’s not about what we have in our billfold. It’s about Who we have in our heart!
To celebrate National Dollar Days, think of some way you could invest a dollar (or more!) into something of eternal value. It might be in Bibles you would give away. It could be for a missionary. Maybe it could be in some other form of the Lord’s work. What about giving that dollar (or more) to a needy brother or sister?
There’s a lot we could do with a dollar rather than spending it at Dollar General, Dollar Tree, or Family Dollar. If God has blessed us financially, share that blessing with others.
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)
1https://www.loc.gov/resource/bdsdcc.19801/?sp=1&st=image
2https://www.bep.gov/currency/circulating-currency/1-note
3Ibid
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