American dollar: history and anecdotes of a national currency

A mythical currency: the dollar

The American dollar is the official monetary unit several countries or territories: among them is the United States, Palaos, El Salvador, Ecuador, etc This currency is the second more used in the world as regards currency in circulation and the first as regards transactions. When and how the American dollar did it appear?

At the origins of the dollar

To understand how the dollar was born, it is necessary to go back to the Middle Ages and to take over the leadership of the village of Sankt-Joachimsthal, now located as a Czech Republic. Whereas a money mine is discovered on this territory, the thaler starts to be struck: it is about a metal currency initially called the joachimsthaler. Until the 20th century, this currency is used in the German states. The thaler of Marie-Therese, an Austrian coin, in particular knew a great diffusion. However, it is the coin of eight, also called piastre money, which is used as model to establish the American dollar. The thaler was then spread in Latin America: the word “thaler” then became “dólar”.

First dollar with the War of Independence

It is in 1690 that the first North-American dollar comes out: it is struck by the British colony of Massachusetts. Until 1755, the Thirteen Colonies of the British Empire in North America print tickets then expressed in pound sterling. The war of independence of the United States begins in 1776: for this period, in fact the continental Congress supervises the production of the tickets expressed in continental dollars. However, the value of this currency is depreciated, which causes a quasi-bankruptcy.

The dollar like official currency

Whereas the crisis of Continental the currency dollar is made feel, the bank of North America is founded on December 31st, 1781. The role of this first modern bank is in particular to rectify public finances. It should be waited until 1785 so that the dollar becomes the official currency of the United States. And it is the law of Coinage Act of 1792 which establishes the dollar as only monetary unit of the country which functions thanks to the decimal system.  The coins are struck the following year in Philadelphia. As for the dollars, they make their appearance in 1861 and are emitted by the government. Some anecdotes to be known on the American dollar:

•     The famous currency “In God we trust” is reproduced on the part of 2 hundreds by 1864. It is present since 1955 on all the tickets.
•     The origin of the symbol $ is not certain: this last would draw its origin from the parts of eight and more precisely from the streamers rolled up around the two columns, which would account for the $.
•     Impossible to know the contents of the formula of ink used to print the tickets, trade secret obliges!

The American dollar, of the 20th century until our days

Until 1929, the government authorizes the emission of tickets by thousands of bank: they are the “national bank notes”. However, in 1913, the Federal reserve of the United States is founded: this central bank makes it possible the federal banks to issue the tickets, which they will do the following year. Today, the near total of the tickets are emitted by Federal reserve: and the tickets of 1 Dollar like the others are printed at Washington DC and Forth Worth in Texas. Certain cuts such as the tickets of 5000 and 10,000 dollars were not emitted any more since the years 1940!