Write Sources too(include sources)
2007-01-15 12:31:20 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Government
Money was in use in North America long before the formation of the United States. (see the Yahoo! directory for currency:
http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Economics/Currency/History/)
"By 1637, the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared wampum legal tender (ok to use as money). " That is a quote from one of the links (pbs.org) supplied by the Yahoo! currency directory. Wampum are seashells.
Another example of early U.S. money are cash crops like indigo, maize, rice, tobacco, and wheat that were used as money in colonial Virginia.
So, when the United States declared independence (1776) and eventually became independent from Great Britain, it was already using several forms of currency, including cash crops, wampum (shells), precious metal coinage (gold, silver, and the like) from other countries, and paper money (legal tender treasury notes and bills)
At the Yahoo! directory for the history of U.S. currency
(http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Economics/Currency/United_States/History/), there are some great links to some websites that have pictures of Colonial Currency, with the date the currency was used during the 1700s.
United States coinage was first minted in 1792.
2007-01-15 13:29:53 · answer #1 · answered by endpov 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, we had money as British Colonies, so upon the inception of the United States, I would say we had money. Even if the drafts were the Bank of Virginia, or whatever.
2007-01-15 12:37:29 · answer #2 · answered by sjsosullivan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
u can google urself hehe ... but the first currency i think that was involved in our becoming a nation was colonial scrip ... it was a total fiat currency and it worked so well and the local economy of the time flourished ... however the bank of england wasnt making money off of that and so imposed a law that outlawed the colonists money and forced them to pay taxes in silver or gold ...leading to widespread unemployment and general unrest which led up to the revolution ...
2007-01-15 12:38:02 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Money has always been here, British money at first. Mints were authorized after the Revolution. Not sure of the dates.
2007-01-15 12:37:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋