Latest news with #US Treasury
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
The tiny hidden symbol on every dollar bill... but no one knows what it is
There is a strange little symbol hiding on every dollar bill, and no one can agree on what it is. Some say it's a spider. Others insist it's an owl. And for conspiracy theorists, it's a symbol tied to secret societies like the Freemasons or the Illuminati. The tiny shape, smaller than a grain of rice, sits just above the large '1' in the top right corner on the front of the bill. At first glance, it looks like a speck of ink. But under a magnifying glass, it appears to have a round head and small limbs. It's been there for nearly a century, but the US Treasury has never explained what it is, or why it was included. There's no official record, no designer has claimed it, and no known purpose has ever been published. Currency experts say it's likely just part of the guilloche, the swirling, decorative pattern printed across the bill to prevent counterfeiting. But the shape near the '1' is slightly different from the others. It appears partially enclosed, making it stand out from the rest. But without a definitive answer, theories have flourished online. 'I hear it's Moloch, the owl god worshipped at Bohemian Grove,' one Reddit user joked. 'It must be true.' Another said, 'I was told it was a spider when I was young, long before I had internet access.' One person even wrote, 'That's an owl. It's a Freemason symbol.' Ralph Benko, chairman of The Capitalist League and an expert on currency history, said: 'The unknown engraver who designed the dollar bill took the secret, if there is one, to his grave. I fancy it as a tiny owl.' Financial websites like Sunmark Credit Union have also listed it among the dollar's many 'hidden details,' describing it as either an owl or a spider. Meanwhile, YouTubers and amateur sleuths have dissected the mark in videos, comparing it to similar flourishes on the bill, but nothing else quite matches the odd little blob near the '1'. Legally, the $1 bill's design hasn't changed since the 1920s, and by law, it can't be updated, meaning that mark has quietly passed from wallet to wallet, generation after generation, for nearly 100 years. Some tie the mystery to other well-known symbols on the bill, like the pyramid and all-seeing eye, both long associated with Masonic symbolism and secret codes. But there's no historical evidence linking the tiny figure to any society, just whispers and wild guesses. The psychological phenomenon at play is called pareidolia, when the brain sees familiar patterns, especially faces, in random images. It's the same reason people spot Jesus in toast or see faces on Mars. This trick is called pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon where your brain tries to make sense of chaos by forcing familiar patterns onto it, especially faces. It is not a glitch. It is actually your brain working. Humans evolved to be hyper-aware of faces, because spotting them quickly helped with survival, whether it was recognizing a threat, an ally, or a potential mate. The design of the $1 note has not changed since the 1920s, and legally, it can not be redesigned under current law. That means this strange mark has been sitting on every bill for nearly a century, passed down through wallets and pockets, whispered about in classrooms, and dissected in Reddit threads and YouTube videos. Some tie the shape to older, more established dollar bill conspiracies. The pyramid and all-seeing eye on the back of the bill are well-documented symbols with Masonic origins, and their placement has long fueled speculation about secret codes or hidden meanings. But there is no historical evidence linking the tiny front-side figure to any known society. Still, online, the theories keep growing. 'Looks like a baby kraken to me,' joked one Reddit user. Another claimed, 'That's the spider who spun the webs. Dad showed me as a child.' One even said, 'It's Jesus Christ watching you throw it at somebody's daughter.' Other guesses include Mothman, Cthulhu, or a miniature chupacabra. The list of theories is endless, but no one actually knows what it is. What is confirmed: the mark is not a printing error. It is not random damage. It is in the same exact spot on every single $1 bill, part of the original design approved by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing nearly a century ago. It is part of the original design, which was finalized by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing nearly a century ago and no designer ever publicly claimed the element or explained its purpose.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump's housing revolution threatens another mortgage meltdown
Donald Trump is eyeing up what might become 'the biggest deal in history' and the stakes could not be higher. It could feasibly bring in hundreds of billions of dollars for the public purse and boost homeownership. Or it could send mortgage rates soaring. The deal is the fate of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two mortgage giants that together back around $7 trillion (£5.2 trillion) of America's $12 trillion mortgage market – a sum roughly double the size of the UK economy. The two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) nearly went under during the financial crisis and were bailed out by the US Treasury in 2008. For the last 17 years, they have been in government conservatorship, meaning they are governed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), with an explicit government guarantee behind their loans. Now, the president wants to start cashing out. Shaky foundations 'I am giving very serious consideration to taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on May 21. 'Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing very well, throwing off a lot of CASH, and the timing would seem to be right. Stay tuned!' The two GSEs have a combined net worth of almost $161bn. Selling a portion of these shares could rival the $25.6bn Saudi Aramco initial public offering (IPO) as the biggest listing in history. But there are big potential problems. It is not clear what the trade-off will be between the Treasury's stake in the GSEs and those of private investors, who include several of Trump's billionaire backers. The deal raises questions about threats to financial stability, and there is a risk it could drive mortgage rates higher. In early June, a group of 14 Democrat senators led by Elizabeth Warren wrote to FHFA director William Pulte warning the result could be 'disastrous'. Fannie and Freddie are enormous. Between them, they support about 70pc of the US mortgage market. 'Back in 2007, they were a sizeable chunk of the market, now they are almost its entirety,' says Jim Parrott, of the Urban Institute. The GSEs function by buying up mortgage loans from banks. They pool the mortgages into trusts and slice them up to issue mortgage-backed securities (MBS), an investment vehicle similar to a bond. These are then sold to insurers and pension funds. Fannie and Freddie earn a fee by guaranteeing the debt. This is one of the bedrocks of the American financial system. There are many good reasons to end conservatorship, which was supposed to be a temporary crisis measure. Aaron Klein, senior fellow on financial regulation at the Brookings Institution, argues that opening the GSEs up to private capital would free them from the government's risk-averse lending terms and open up mortgage borrowing for first-time buyers. Messing it up, however, would risk triggering contagion across the financial sector. Mortgage risk One of the most important questions is what happens to the government's guarantee – worth some $250bn – if the GSEs leave conservatorship. Analysts have warned losing the government guarantee could add a whole percentage point to mortgage rates. This would take the average rate on a 30-year fix to more than 7.7pc – in line with the 23-year high that was hit in 2023.
