The idiom “a penny for your thoughts” is a polite way of asking someone what is on their mind.” A few months ago, I put one hundred pennies together and wrote a column about the hidden messages in the one-dollar bill. Well, let me up the ante and reveal the secrets woven into the five-dollar bill.

The five-dollar bill is all about Abe Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. His portrait is on the front and the monument dedicated to him is on the back. 

Known as “Honest Abe” I wonder how happy he would have been to see all the hidden images and messages on his currency. 

Some of the hidden images are watermarks created to thwart counterfeiting. If you remember the scene in the movie “Midnight Run” the characters played by Charles Grodin and Robert DeNiro are desperate to get enough money to continue their journey to Los Angeles. They enter a bar telling the owner that they are federal agents looking for counterfeiters. They take bills out of the cash register, hold them in front of a light and do a “litmus configuration” test. They pocket some of the cash as evidence.

The reality is that holding a five-dollar bill in front of a light does reveal hidden watermarks. If you have a five-dollar bill handy, hold it in front of a light with Abe’s face looking at you. To the left of Abe’s portrait, you now see three white number fives. Near the right-side margin, a larger number five is visible.

Hold it in front of the light again. To the right of Lincoln’s portrait look at the letter “T” in the word “THE.” Now you can see a series of tiny images that land near the letter “O” in the word” Dollars.”

Before we flip the bill over, look at the four number fives on the corners of the bill. Now place it in front of the light. You will see that three of them have curlicue designs that obscure the number five.

Looking now at the back of the bill that displays the Lincoln Memorial you will need a magnifying glass or a microscope to see hidden features that have nothing to do with preventing counterfeiting. 

The great detail of the Memorial has many images that cannot be seen without amplification. Along the top are the engraved names of the states. Between the columns is the image of Lincoln sitting as he does in the actual memorial.

On the left side of the wall is the inscription of Lincoln’s most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address. Along the right side of the wall is his Second Inaugural Address where he spoke of his hope for peace and reconciliation after the Civil War.

The cloud that hovers behind the depiction of the memorial and the shrubbery along the bottom has led many claiming to see other hidden images. Some have opined that the revised five-dollar bill uses that cloud as images to commemorate the other presidents who were assassinated, James Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. 

Future columns will examine the messages hidden in the other denominations of United States paper currency. It makes me wonder how the designs are decided upon. There is an inter-agency committee in the Treasury Department that makes recommendations on design changes to the currency. However, ultimately the Secretary of the Treasury has the final say. I am sure the Secretary is aware of the anti-counterfeiting measures. But I wonder if all the hidden messages are fully disclosed prior to getting approval. 

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.