Triskaidekaphobia is the extreme fear of the number 13. This phobia can paralyze some people and especially becomes a topic of discussion around Halloween. The Friday the 13th series of horror movies probably has something to do with that. What some people with this fear probably don’t know is that the US $1 is basically an homage to the number 13. 

Friday the 13th Movie | Adds to negative view on the number 13 |
Source: Pixabay
US $1 Dollar | 2013 | P-537 |
Source: Banknote World

One can start with the fact that the when the US was formed it had 13 states. Now you would have thought that the scholarly men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and Constitution would have considered that and maybe split Virginia into West Virginia and East Virginia or East and West Pennsylvania to have 14 or 15 states. While triskaidekaphobia might not have been a driving concept in the 1700’s it was well know in Europe. But it appears Jefferson and Madison and the other colonial leaders didn’t have this forethought. As a result, the US $1 ended up with a lot of 13s.

US $1 Dollar | 2013 | P-537 |
Source: Banknote World

Look on the back of a $1 bill. The eagle is counting 13 arrows. The branch in the eagle’s left claw has 13 leaves. There are 13 stars above the eagle, and its shield has 13 bars. The pyramid has 13 steps and even some of the latin text have 13 letters. Do you think this counts as triskaidekaphobia?

And who said the old guys with white powder wigs didn’t have a sense of humor.

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