Image: Continental $50 note 1778 pyramid

Description: Detail of a $50 Continental Currency note from 1778. The note was designed by Francis Hopkinson, and this unfinished pyramid design was a precursor to the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States, which Hopkinson later worked on, though using different designs. Later in the Great Seal process, William Barton took this pyramid and added the Eye Of Providence overhead (itself taken from a still earlier Great Seal attempt).
Title: Continental $50 note 1778 pyramid
Credit: Extracted from PDF version of Seals and Symbols in the American Colonies poster, part of a U.S. Diplomacy Center (State Department) exhibition on the 225th anniversary of the Great Seal. Direct PDF URL [1] (21MB) Courtesy of the Department of Special Collections of the University Libraries of Notre Dame.
Author: Francis Hopkinson (original note)
Permission: The U.S. Diplomacy Center exhibition page states All materials in this exhibition are in the public domain and can be reproduced without permission. Citation of this source is appreciated.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No