The pyramid on the back of the U.S. one-dollar bill is part of the Great Seal of the United States, which was first used on the reverse of the one-dollar Federal Reserve note in 1935. According to the State Department, which is the official keeper of the Seal, the pyramid symbolizes strength and durability, and it appears unfinished because it means that the United States will always “grow, improve, and build” . The pyramid has 13 steps, which represent the 13 original colonies that became the United States. The eye above the pyramid is known as the “All-Seeing Eye” and represents divine guidance in favor of the American cause. The Latin phrases “ANNUIT COEPTIS” (”God has favored our undertaking”) and “NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM” (”A new order for the world”) are also included in the design and further demonstrate the theme of divine providence for the creation of the U.S. . The Great Seal was designed by Charles Thomson, and a committee featuring Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson was responsible for coming up with the idea of divine providence as a theme for the symbol.