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Grand Theft Auto V's Logo Has Some Real History

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And I don't mean the iconic "Price is Right" font. I mean the way the latest game in the series, Grand Theft Auto V, has a rather interesting employment of antique US currency.

As spotted by a Reddit user, the "FIVE" at the end of the game's logo is lifted almost directly from an old Silver Certificate, a type of paper currency used in the US between 1878 and 1964 (and which, if you can still find a note, technically remains legal tender).

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In particular, it's from the design of an 1899 note featuring Running Antelope, an American Indian commemorated for his belief in a compromise with the encroaching United States rather than war.

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What does this mean? Nothing! Everything! The particularly mad among you will take either the Indian or 1899 angle and run with it, but I think it's just a neat way of tying US currency (always at the heart of a GTA game) to the franchise's use of Roman numerals in its logos: by the early 20th century, US paper currency would be using "5" instead of "V", and "5" just wouldn't cut it on a Grand Theft Auto box!

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You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at plunkett@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

Click here to visit our Grand Theft Auto V timeline!