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History & Genealogy
How the Dollar got its name
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<blockquote data-quote="Occams Barber" data-source="post: 77002277" data-attributes="member: 313365"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>How the Dollar got its Name</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>(The Trivia Addendum)</strong></p><p></p><p><em>As promised in the OP, what follows is an assortment of fascinating odds and ends picked up in the process of investigating the history and etymology of the U.S. dollar.</em></p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The 1792 United States Coinage Act stipulated that U.S. coinage comprise coins based on five separate currency units using three precious/semi-precious metal standards:</li> </ul> <ul style="margin-left: 20px"> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong><em>Copper</em></strong>: The ‘mill’ (1/10 of a cent) and the ‘cent’ (1/100th of a dollar). The Philadelphia Mint made half cent coins worth five mills between 1793 and 1857. A copper three-cent coin was minted between1865 – 1889, The five-cent copper/nickel alloy coin known colloquially as a ‘<em>nickel</em>’, wasn’t minted until 1866. The original five-cent coin was silver.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong><em>Silver</em></strong>: ‘Dimes’ (10 cents) and ‘dollars’ (10 dimes) along with half dimes (five cents), half dollars and quarter dollars.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong><em>Gold</em></strong><em>: </em>The ‘Eagle’ valued at $10. ‘Eagle’ coinage included the eagle ($10), quarter eagle ($2.50) and half eagle ($5). Double eagles ($20) were first produced in 1849. Eagles were discontinued in 1933.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the U.S. Coinage Act of 1792 ‘dimes’ were referred to as ‘dismes’. This wasn’t a spelling mistake. ‘Disme’ is an Old French word meaning ‘1/10th part’ and is the origin of ‘dime’.</li> </ul> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><a href="https://www.gold.org/sites/default/files/documents/1792apr2.pdf" target="_blank">Key documents in the history of gold, 1:</a> (U.S. Coinage Act of 1792)</p> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. Department of the Treasury the dollar symbol ($) was originally the symbol for the Mexican peso and predates the U.S. dollar <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=dollar&ref=searchbar_searchhint" target="_blank">dollar | Search Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com)</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">From their face value of eight Spanish<em> reals</em>, Spanish dollars were also known as ‘<em>pieces of eight’</em>, a term later locked into pirate lore by the raucous squawking of Long John Silver’s garrulous parrot.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em>Doubloon</em> is another Spanish coin associated with the pirate era. <em>Doubloon</em> comes from Spanish ‘<em>dobla</em>’ (double) based on its value of two ‘<em>escudos</em>’. Since an ‘<em>escudo’</em> was worth two Spanish dollars and a dollar equalled eight <em>reals</em> – a gold doubloon was valued at 32 <em>reals.</em></li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Corsair, privateer, buccaneer, freebooter, filibuster, sea-rat, sea-wolf, are all synonyms for ‘pirate’. Buccaneer comes from ‘<em>boucan</em>’ - a grill, used by French settlers in the Spanish West Indies, for smoking meat. These settlers, who were prone to the odd act of piracy, were known as ‘<em>boucanier’</em>. A related Haitian word, ‘<em>barbacoa</em>’, is the origin of ‘barbecue’.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Another word for pirate was ‘<em>filibuster</em>’ (seriously) derived from an unpronounceable Dutch word (‘<em>vrijbueter’ = ‘plunderer’</em>) which is also the source of ‘<em>freebooter</em>’. It isn’t clear how ‘filibuster’ later came to describe a political talkathon although it may relate to the sense of someone ‘pirating’ a political debate.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A ‘<em>privateer</em>’ is a private individual, licensed by ‘<em>Letters of Marque’</em>, to conduct acts of water-based warfare against a nation/state’s enemies. Famous examples include Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh who were authorised by Queen Elizabeth 1 to attack Spanish ships and ports in return for a share of the proceeds. ‘<em>Corsair</em>’ has a similar meaning but tends to refer to Barbary pirates based on the North African Mediterranean coast often acting under Turkish/Ottoman licence.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Article 1; Section 8; Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution gives the U.S. Congress the power to “<em>declare war<strong>, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal</strong>, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water</em>”. In other words, Congress can issue pirate licences.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spanish dollars were often cut into eight wedges (like a cake) resulting in eight, one <em>real, </em>bits. Since two <em>real bits</em> were equivalent to a quarter of a dollar, a quarter dollar became known colloquially as “<em>two bits</em>”. The sense of ‘two bits’ being cheap probably dates from the 1920s.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In the early 1800s new Australian colonies were also suffering a severe shortage of coinage. The then Australian colonial Governor imported 40,000 Spanish dollar coins from Madras and doubled the colony’s coinage by cutting out the centre section of each coin. This created two coins; the ‘<em>Holey’ Dollar’</em> worth five shillings and the centre ‘<em>dump</em>’, assigned a value of 15 pennies.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Chinese <em>yuan</em> was also derived from the Spanish dollar in 1889.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The U.S. dollar was not the first decimal (i.e., based on multiples of 10) currency. The Russian rouble was decimalised in 1704 when it was divided into 100 kopeks,</li> </ul><p>OB</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Occams Barber, post: 77002277, member: 313365"] [CENTER][B]How the Dollar got its Name[/B] [B](The Trivia Addendum)[/B][/CENTER] [I]As promised in the OP, what follows is an assortment of fascinating odds and ends picked up in the process of investigating the history and etymology of the U.S. dollar.[/I] [LIST] [*]The 1792 United States Coinage Act stipulated that U.S. coinage comprise coins based on five separate currency units using three precious/semi-precious metal standards: [/LIST] [INDENT][LIST] [*][B][I]Copper[/I][/B]: The ‘mill’ (1/10 of a cent) and the ‘cent’ (1/100th of a dollar). The Philadelphia Mint made half cent coins worth five mills between 1793 and 1857. A copper three-cent coin was minted between1865 – 1889, The five-cent copper/nickel alloy coin known colloquially as a ‘[I]nickel[/I]’, wasn’t minted until 1866. The original five-cent coin was silver. [*][B][I]Silver[/I][/B]: ‘Dimes’ (10 cents) and ‘dollars’ (10 dimes) along with half dimes (five cents), half dollars and quarter dollars. [*][B][I]Gold[/I][/B][I]: [/I]The ‘Eagle’ valued at $10. ‘Eagle’ coinage included the eagle ($10), quarter eagle ($2.50) and half eagle ($5). Double eagles ($20) were first produced in 1849. Eagles were discontinued in 1933. [/LIST][/INDENT] [LIST] [*]In the U.S. Coinage Act of 1792 ‘dimes’ were referred to as ‘dismes’. This wasn’t a spelling mistake. ‘Disme’ is an Old French word meaning ‘1/10th part’ and is the origin of ‘dime’. [/LIST] [INDENT][URL='https://www.gold.org/sites/default/files/documents/1792apr2.pdf']Key documents in the history of gold, 1:[/URL] (U.S. Coinage Act of 1792)[/INDENT] [LIST] [*]According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. Department of the Treasury the dollar symbol ($) was originally the symbol for the Mexican peso and predates the U.S. dollar [URL='https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=dollar&ref=searchbar_searchhint']dollar | Search Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com)[/URL] [/LIST] [LIST] [*]From their face value of eight Spanish[I] reals[/I], Spanish dollars were also known as ‘[I]pieces of eight’[/I], a term later locked into pirate lore by the raucous squawking of Long John Silver’s garrulous parrot. [/LIST] [LIST] [*][I]Doubloon[/I] is another Spanish coin associated with the pirate era. [I]Doubloon[/I] comes from Spanish ‘[I]dobla[/I]’ (double) based on its value of two ‘[I]escudos[/I]’. Since an ‘[I]escudo’[/I] was worth two Spanish dollars and a dollar equalled eight [I]reals[/I] – a gold doubloon was valued at 32 [I]reals.[/I] [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Corsair, privateer, buccaneer, freebooter, filibuster, sea-rat, sea-wolf, are all synonyms for ‘pirate’. Buccaneer comes from ‘[I]boucan[/I]’ - a grill, used by French settlers in the Spanish West Indies, for smoking meat. These settlers, who were prone to the odd act of piracy, were known as ‘[I]boucanier’[/I]. A related Haitian word, ‘[I]barbacoa[/I]’, is the origin of ‘barbecue’. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Another word for pirate was ‘[I]filibuster[/I]’ (seriously) derived from an unpronounceable Dutch word (‘[I]vrijbueter’ = ‘plunderer’[/I]) which is also the source of ‘[I]freebooter[/I]’. It isn’t clear how ‘filibuster’ later came to describe a political talkathon although it may relate to the sense of someone ‘pirating’ a political debate. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]A ‘[I]privateer[/I]’ is a private individual, licensed by ‘[I]Letters of Marque’[/I], to conduct acts of water-based warfare against a nation/state’s enemies. Famous examples include Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh who were authorised by Queen Elizabeth 1 to attack Spanish ships and ports in return for a share of the proceeds. ‘[I]Corsair[/I]’ has a similar meaning but tends to refer to Barbary pirates based on the North African Mediterranean coast often acting under Turkish/Ottoman licence. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Article 1; Section 8; Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution gives the U.S. Congress the power to “[I]declare war[B], grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal[/B], and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water[/I]”. In other words, Congress can issue pirate licences. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Spanish dollars were often cut into eight wedges (like a cake) resulting in eight, one [I]real, [/I]bits. Since two [I]real bits[/I] were equivalent to a quarter of a dollar, a quarter dollar became known colloquially as “[I]two bits[/I]”. The sense of ‘two bits’ being cheap probably dates from the 1920s. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]In the early 1800s new Australian colonies were also suffering a severe shortage of coinage. The then Australian colonial Governor imported 40,000 Spanish dollar coins from Madras and doubled the colony’s coinage by cutting out the centre section of each coin. This created two coins; the ‘[I]Holey’ Dollar’[/I] worth five shillings and the centre ‘[I]dump[/I]’, assigned a value of 15 pennies. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]The Chinese [I]yuan[/I] was also derived from the Spanish dollar in 1889. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]The U.S. dollar was not the first decimal (i.e., based on multiples of 10) currency. The Russian rouble was decimalised in 1704 when it was divided into 100 kopeks, [/LIST] OB [/QUOTE]
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