United States dollar

Origin of the name dollar

The United States dollar derives from the Spanish 8 reales coin which was composed of just under one ounce of silver. This coin was popular among American colonists who called it the Spanish dollar, the name having derived from a German coin of similar size and composition known as the thaler. The first dollar coins issued by the United States mint were of the same size and composition as the Spanish dollar and even after the American Revolutionary War the Spanish and U.S. silver dollars circulated side by side in the United States.

Related Topics:
Spanish dollar - Thaler - American Revolutionary War

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Although private banks issued currency backed by Spanish and U.S. silver dollars, the federal government did not do so until the American Civil War.

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For further history of the name, see Dollar.

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