Why do we call dollars Bucks?

Question

Most people (from around my area) tend to substitute the word dollar for buck (EX: I have 20 bucks in my wallet)
and I was wondering where it came from, if anywhere.

Answer 1

the name "buck" came from a time (circa 1890-1920) where people would trade deer skins as a type of money in america. Male deer are called bucks and so the term "buck" became synomous with money. through the years, dollars and bucks or buck skins were used enterchangably.


wikipedia entry - The word buck — possibly an abbreviation of buckskin or buckarooney, an intrinsic "currency" for trade with American Indians known since 1746 — has been recorded since 1856 and is widely used as a synonym for the dollars of many countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the United States.
-jam

Answer 2

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar says: "The word buck — possibly an abbreviation of buckskin or buckarooney, an intrinsic "currency" for trade with American Indians known since 1746 — has been recorded since 1856 and is widely used as a synonym for the dollars of many countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the United States"

Answer 3

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary -

'Meaning of "dollar" is 1856, Amer.Eng., perhaps an abbreviation of buckskin, a unit of trade among Indians and Europeans in frontier days, attested in this sense from 1748'

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=buck

Answer 4

Derived from Saw buck. Sawbuck was slang for a $10 bill. The Roman numeral X was used to for ten. The X is the profile shape of a Saw Buck, which is a stand used to hold log to be sawed.

Answer 5

Australian Dollar Wiki

Answer 6

The quid name of the pound comes from Latin "Quid pro quo" which means exchange of goods or services, where one transfer is contingent upon the other.