OUTSIDE THE TUBE DESIGNS

Above is the Festival $8 Bill (888) which debuted in April 2010

The idea to design an $8 Bill for Festival Eight actually came to me late night ON Halloween, so it is safe to say  it was a little late!  However, over the past few months, the idea kept popping into my head, so I decided to go for it.  The design is based on the $1 Bill, and I tried to work in as much Phish symbolism as possible while remaining true to the original form.  Basically anything that I could alter to make the Festival $8 Bill Phishy (in a subtle way) I did.

The serial number references Halloween, as do the Roman numbers at the bottom of the pyramid.  I took out 5 of the 13 stars, olive leaves and arrows in the seal on the right side of the back of the Bill to make eight of each as a nod to Festival 8. Taking out the middle 5 stars actually created an unintended figure eight, which I thought was extra cool!  I also removed the center tail feather of the eagle to make it so there are only 8 of them.  I changed the Latin slogan below the pyramid to say “Lego Libri Servo Vita” which means “Read the Book and Save Your Life,” and the signatures at the bottom of the front side of the Festival $8 Bill are those of Marco Esquandolas and M.R. Palmer!  The Department of the Treasury seal has been altered to reference the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street album cover choice for Halloween.

I originally wanted to use a visage of King Wilson, and then it hit me that Woodrow Wilson was on the now defunct $100,000 Bill, so it seemed like a nice touch.  I also changed the letter in the middle of the Federal Reserve Seal to an 8, and the city of printing has been changed to Indio, CA.  I changed the other serial numbers to F8 and 1030 and 1101 to represent the other two days of the festival.  In Clod We Trust needs no explanation, does it?

The Festival $8 Bills were printed on Crane & Company 100% Cotton woven paper… as close to the U.S. currency as I could get without having the Feds poking around!

USPS: 1=$4, 2=$6, 3=$9, 4=$11, 5=$14, 6=$17, 7=$20, 8=$22, 9=$25, 10=$27

The easiest way to purchase items is to visit my “Outside the Tube Designs” Etsy Page:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PhishCoins

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Above is the Super Ball $9 Bill (999) which debuted in June 2011

I have to admit that I was hoping after Festival 8 that Phish would use a #9 in the name of their next festival.  They obviously did, so I present to you what will likely be my last attempt at a Phishy take on U.S. currency… The Super Ball $9 Bill!

While I used the $1 Bill as the inspiration for the Festival $8 Bill, I settled on a vintage $5 Bill as the “template” for the Super Ball $9 Bill.  As with the Festival $8 Bill, I tried to stay as true to the layout of the currency while littering as much Phish symbolism as possible into the design.

Regarding the front side of the Super Ball $9 Bill, the serial numbers mark the dates of the festival.  The “printing” city is Watkins Glen, NY.  Rutherford B. Hayes (dead presidents only) symbolizes Rutherford the Brave.  The Chairman of the Festival is Harvey P. Hood (who we know as Harry Hood) founder of the H.P. Hood Dairy Company.  Errand Wolfe is the Secretary of the Treasury, as he would have been in charge of the finances of the Lizards after the death of Mr. Palmer and the overthrow of King Wilson.

The black seal on the front side contains the Latin phrase “LEGO LIBRI SERVO VITA” which translates to “READ THE BOOK & SAVE YOUR LIFE”  and the Roman number “IX” to represent Super Ball IX.  Underneath this seal is the latin phrase “E QUATTUOR UNUM” which is a Phishy off-shoot of the phrase “E PLURIBUS UNUM” which appears on U.S. Currency.  While “E PLURIBUS UNUM” means “FROM MANY… ONE” the phrase “E QUATTUOR UNUM” means “FROM FOUR… ONE” which to me is really what Phish is all about, the sum of all parts is greater than any single element.  The green seal has checkered flags and reads “WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL” where Super Ball IX was held.

As for the back side of the Super Ball $9 Bill, I changed the name of the Lincoln Memorial to Forbin Memorial, and altered the structure to resemble the Self Storage USA Building used for the secret set late night on 7/2/11.  I also put “SBIX” in the lower boxes where the word “FIVE” would normally appear.  The number 83 in the lower right references the year that Phish was formed, and the phrase “IN CLOD WE TRUST” appears across the banner at the top of the back side of the Super Ball $9 Bill too. That needs no explanation…

USPS: 1=$4, 2=$6, 3=$9, 4=$11, 5=$14, 6=$17, 7=$20, 8=$22, 9=$25, 10=$27