July 6, 1785: The United States of America unanimously chose the dollar as its monetary unit. Because the British had forbade the printing of currencies in 1764, the fledgling country had been using a Spanish silver coin that colonists commonly referred to as the "Spanish dollar". In 1775, the term dollar had been used to refer to paper money backed by the Spanish coin and issued by the Continental Congress. The new dollar replaced both the Spanish coin and the failed Continental currency that was frequently counterfeited. The new dollar would be backed by both silver and gold, which would continue until 1900, when amidst controversy the U.S. switched to just gold. As of 1975, the dollar is a fiat currency not backed by any precious metal. Despite the 1785 declaration, dollars resembling today's greenbacks were not printed for another 76 years, when the federal government began issuing its own money to finance the Civil War. Although the term originally was used for a Spanish currency, the word dollar is widely believed to be derived from the German term "thaler". —
Matthew Wurtzel
Continue reading below
