Before the American Colonies became the United States of America, many different types of money flowed and floated through the village-economy of the day. It became the task (if not an ORDEAL) of the Continental Congress to decide which, if any, of these confusing currencies would ultimately become the one true and UNITING "CONTINENTAL CURRENCY."

British empire:

One Pence = One Penny = ?1 d.?[p>d>p>d] which stands for ?1 Denarius? (Roman Empire coinage = 1/16th oz. Silver)

- British Pence coins weighed approx. 1/3rd ounce copper, but valued at 80 Pence per Ounce of Silver,

which represented approx. 500% Inflation (depreciation) from Roman times to the 1700?s?!

- also available in multiples of Farthing, Halfpence, Twopence, Threepence, Fourpence(=One Groat), and Sixpence

One Shilling = Twelve Pence

One Crown = Five Shillings = Sixty Pence

One Pound Sterling = Four Crowns = Twenty Shillings = 240 Pence [= Three Ounces Pure Silver = 1/5th ounce Pure Gold]

Spanish Empire:

Silver coins, denominated in units of ?-Reale, One Reale, Two Reales, Four Reales, and Eight Reales (8R=US$1.00)

Gold coins, particularly those denominated as ?Two Escudos? which became known as ?Gold Dubloons.? (2S=US$15.00)

Sample translations to other currencies:

1/24th Part Reale = approximately 0.375 Pence (Exactly between a Farthing and a Halfpence)

Six Shillings = 72 Pence = 8 Reales [= 0.9-ounce of Pure Silver = 0.06-ounce of Pure Gold] Gold-to-Silver = 15-to-1

Three Pence = 1/24th Dollar, and 24 Pence = 1/3rd Dollar (wow!)

The most common coin circulating among the 13 Colonies was the Spanish Eight-Reales silver minted in Mexico City; so popular that it was given colloquial names as ?Spanish Milled Dollar? or ?Pillar Dollar? or ?Piece of Eight? ? the latter name referring to the custom of cutting the large silver coins into halves, quarters, and eighths (due to a lack of sufficient smaller-denomination Reale coins), each 1/8th of the coin becoming known as a ?bit.? Two Bits equaled a Quarter-Dollar, etc. So pervasive was this convention that it continued to be used as a standard monetary unit (eighths of a Dollar) on the New York Stock Exchange until the end of the Twentieth Century. It?s also interesting to note that the first computers utilized memory divided into units of eight binary digits, which became known as ?Bits.?

British Colonies / United Colonies / United States:

Fundamental unit of currency became the ?Dollar? based on and equal to the Spanish Milled Dollar or ?Pillar Dollar? or ?Piece of Eight.? It is believed that the source for the USA?s Dollar-Sign (?$?) was the banner(s) draped around the Pillar(s) on the Reverse of the Eight Reales coin. Eight Reales were valued as equal to Six Shillings (72 Pence, equal to 0.9-ounce of Silver in the 1700?s). However, the Continental Congress decided to make the new Continental Currency Dollar equal to Four Shillings and Sixpence (equal to 54 Pence, or 0.9 Crown, or 0.225 Pound Sterling*), thus creating a currency which was immediately undervalued by One Shilling and Sixpence (18 Pence, or 3/10th Crown, or 0.075 Pound Sterling). This ?lack of confidence? may very well have been the source of all the woes to befall the Continental Currency?s valuation during the Revolutionary War and the years of turmoil thereafter.

Due at least in part to the devastation of the Continental Currency (the source of the phrase, ?Not worth a Continental?), it was later decided to use a Decimal system as the basis for fractions of the one, solitary, basic unit of a Dollar, to keep the USA?s monetary system relatively simple in comparison to the other denominations of currency in use around the world at that time. This was perhaps the greatest ?revolutionary? decision in the history of monetary systems throughout the world, ultimately leading to the USA Dollar becoming the ?World?s Standard Currency.?

It should also be noted that the Continental Congress created a de-facto monetary standard based on Silver, rather than Gold (the Spanish 8-Reale Dollar remained as Legal Tender in the USA until 1857). Gold was added as a monetary standard for USA currency in 1792, creating a bi-metalic currency system which was destined to again create unparalleled economic turmoil for the new Nation, culminating in the Great Depression of the 1930?s which led to the total banning and demonetization of Gold in 1933. The complete separation of Silver from the currency was not accomplished until the Coinage Act of 1965. Bullion specie was finally separated from Currency, lending a new assurance to the unhindered circulation of the currency to fulfill its purpose as an expedient to Commerce (see ?Lyon?s Law of Currency?).

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* - Compare the Dollar?s value of less than ? British Pound Sterling during the 1770?s with today?s current value of approximately ? BPS(?)?an increase more than doubling the value of the U.S.Dollar in 200 years.