Fr. 1619 Series 1957 $1 Silver Certificate

A real “collector note” within the reach of ANY paper money collector is the Fr. 1619 Series 1957 $1 Silver Certificate, with even gem examples widely available for thirty bucks or so. Throw in the great back story that created this bill, and that’s a lot of collector value for a mere pittance. Of course, an autographed note such as the one shown is more valuable!

Specifications

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Background
The significance of the note, however, whether autographed or not, is its back side which is different from earlier five spots. It incorporates the religious sentiment “In God We Trust.” Coinage had long since sported this motto, which dated from the dark days of the War Between the States, but U.S. paper money had expressed no such sentiment, except for fleeting images of silver dollars on Silver Certificates, and similar statements buried in vignettes.

The prime mover for also placing this slogan on our paper money was an Arkansas furniture rep Matt Rothert, who also was a big time numismatist in the 1950s and thereafter, including a stint as President of the American Numismatic Association.

History
It was during the Cold War following World War II and the Korean Conflict when Matt Rothert began his campaign to have “In God We Trust” placed on U.S. paper money. Americans were travelling widely abroad and carried our paper currency, but not necessarily our coins, across the globe where Yankee greenbacks were universally accepted. A devout man and a lifelong Gideon, Rothert personally trusted in God, and felt our notes should carry the same spiritual affirmation of faith as our coins throughout the world, too.

Rothert’s personal lobbying campaign included speeches, articles, interviews, but principally letters to important politicians. His correspondence included letters to his U.S. Senator from Arkansas J.William Fulbright, Chairman of the important Senate Committee on Banking and Currency. Rothert also contacted Senator Absalom Willis Robertson, banking committee member and father of more recent Presidential aspirant Pat Robertson; and Secretary of the Treasury George M. Humphrey. As some readers in this audience may know, Matt had a prodigious correspondence as an ambassador for our hobby, and his personal stationery bore his letterhead reading: “Matt Rothert, Sr. ‘In God We Trust’” above his Camden, Arkansas, address and telephone number. In one letter Rothert wrote the present writer, Matt noted that one of his favorite poems was William Cullen Bryant’s “To a Waterfowl.” Mr. Rothert told me he often prayed a quatrain in Bryant’s own words:

“He who, from zone to zone, Guides thru the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright.” Matt was perseverent. His inspiration, he said, came during a church service June 21, 1953, in Chicago. On Nov. 1, 1953, he spoke before the Arkansas Numismatic Society, of which he was president, and delegates passed a resolution in favor of the measure. He knew the Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks, so he enlisted his support. He wrote Treasury Secretary George M. Humphrey, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Sen. Fulbright endorsed Rothert’s proposal on Nov. 30th. The Associated Press picked up the story Dec. 5, 1953, and spread word of Rothert’s personal campaign across the country.

The American Numismatic Association endorsed the proposal at its August 1954 convention in Cleveland. Rothert contacted his other U.S. Senator John McClellan. His Congressman Oren Harris set the wheels of government in motion. Fulbright introduced a bill to carry out this measure in the U.S. Senate and Harris introduced a similar bill in the House of Representatives. Florida Congressman Charles Bennett and Texas representative Lyndon Baines Johnson introduced similar bills in the House, too.

In the meantime the Arkansas man with a mission wrote about 1,000 more letters to organizations such as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Rotary and other service clubs, and individuals of all kinds to seek additional support for his conviction.

Bennett’s bill passed the House quickly, but Fulbright’s measure had not reached the floor of the Senate as the session was about to end! Senator Fulbright told Rothert that Senator Mike Monroney of Oklahoma was the chairman of the sub-committee that must bring this bill on the floor. “So I called my friend Mike Monroney,” Rothert told the present writer. “Mike had operated a furniture store in Oklahoma City, and I had often called on him as President of the Camden Furniture Company,” Rothert added. Monroney promised Rothert he would get the bill out of committee before the end of the session. “On the last day it came out and passed unanimously. Several Senators tried to add amendments, but they were voted down,” Rothert said. The Senate passed the bill unanimously June 29, 1955. Senator Fulbright wired Rothert the great news. “This wire was forwarded to me in Chicago, where I was again attending the Furniture Market, “just two years after the God-given inspiration,” he said. Talk about one man making a difference. After the 84th Congress passed the bill, President Eisenhower signed it into law on July 11, 1955, ordering “In God We Trust” to appear on all the coins and currency of the United States. The measure was so popular with the public that Congress passed a joint resolution a year later making this spiritual aphorism our National Motto by law.

Congress declared: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, that at such time as new dies for the printing of currency are adopted in connection with the current program of the Treasury Department to increase the capacity of presses utilized by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the dies shall bear, at such place or places thereon as the Secretary of the Treasury may determine to be appropriate, the inscription ‘In God We Trust,’ and thereafter this inscription shall appear on all United States currency and coins.”

In our present more secular time it is hard for some to envision how electric the news was a half century ago on July 25, 1957, when the U.S. Treasury Department announced the new notes bearing the motto were in production. On that date the Bureau of Engraving and Printing commenced printing $1 Silver Certificates (like the one shown) with the motto on the back above the ONE. Outgoing Treasury Secretary Humphrey and Secretary designate Robert B. Anderson observed the first sheets of the new currency coming off the new high speed 32-subject rotary intaglio presses. The BEP delivered the first batch of these notes to the Treasurer on Sept. 9, 1957. The first notes with the motto “In God We Trust” were placed into circulation on Oct. 1, 1957. From Sept. 15, 1961, all U.S. paper money (except Series 1950C, D, and E which were still printed on old presses with old style back plates without the motto) printed on or since that date bear the motto. In total, hundreds of billions of U.S. notes with the motto have circulated since.

Inclusion of this religious affirmation on our money has not gone without its critics. A century ago President Theodore Roosevelt rejected putting the motto on gold coins because he believed doing so was a sacrilege. Others have challenged use of the motto on our money in the courts. In 1970 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the motto’s use was not unconstitutional in Aronow v. United States. In 1979 a U.S. District Court ruled the motto’s presence on coins and currency does not violate the Constitution in O’Hair v. W. Michael Blumenthal. Other challenges to this motto have risen since, and the issue remains a hot button for both sides of the question. In the meantime, this motto remains a testament to one man’s initiative and a country’s heritage --and importantly a key acquisition for the small size currency collector on a budget.

Collecting
A very easy note to come buy, circulated examples can be had for around $1.25 and raw Unc. examples for around $7