Unknown dollar: the story of the emergence of Comedy and tragedy at the same time

Where did the $symbol

In 1778 a young country the US fought for their independence from the mother country. New Orleans businessman Oliver Pollock took in this war the most active part, buying Spanish weapons, ammunition and reselling all the rebels. Information about all his deals (who bought what for how much and who sold what for how much) he used to record in the books.

Before the advent of the dollar on the North American continent went variety money: French, English, Dutch and others are Very wide went Spanish piastres. Traditionally the Spanish piastre was marked with the letters P and S. To save time, Pollock began to write the symbol, which looked at first as superimposed on each letter, and then simplified it to the letter S crossed with two vertical lines.

Officially, it is April 1, 1778 a businessman Oliver Pollock for the first time in his accounting book just added to it the amount put down an incomprehensible scrawl. A representative of the government of the United States, through whom Oliver had carried out all their transactions of purchase and sale for the American army, was Congressman Robert Morris. Together with the accounts for the supplied guns, gunpowder and boots to him, and moved the $ character, which Morris began to use in all official documents.

Of course, there are other versions of the origin of the $ sign. But, as always happens, from a variety of options you can select one which is canonical. In 1785 when Congress adopted the decision on creation of own national currency, the greenback, the $ sign is already established as a symbol of the new currency. So the " $ " symbol over the dollar for at least seven years.

Today the dollar is the currency of many countries (about thirty), the " $ " symbol to denote pesos, Escudos, real and some other currencies. But, drawing $ and saying "dollar", we, first of all, of course, mean the American currency. And to refer to other add: canadian, Australian, etc.

The dollar gold and silver

First, the dollar was, as befits a serious currency, silver. Each state produced its own coin based on its own reserves of the precious metal. In 1830, after in California found gold, the dollar became the gold. In California and Georgia produced octagonal gold coins, $ 50 (blue dream of every numismatist). Produced and copper coins. But if you fall into the hands of the American copper coin – do not rush to throw it away! Copper coin of 1 cent 1793 at the auction in Orlando (FL) went for a million dollars! A silver dollar of 1804 – 4 million!

The dollar becomes paper

The civil war of 1861-1865 required a huge mass of funds needed to Finance hostilities. Because gold and silver was not enough, the U.S. Congress decided to issue paper money. And away we go!

In the field, where each gopher – the agriculturist, in every state there were people, confident that only he knows how to look like a real American dollar. In every state, private banks, in consultation and with the permission of the authorities, printed dollars.

By 1859 the country went more than 4,000 variants of the national currency! The Ministry of Finance, six people from morning till night and only those involved that put printing on all assorted bills, thus confirming that this money. Only in 1877 the government took the process of printing dollars in their hands.

Design problems

Printers American Bank Note Company, which included an order for the production of dollars, primarily, around, paint, what color they have in stock most. Turned, green. After this practical Yankee clicked on the lobby and pushed through the decision to green the national currency. So the dollar became a "green" (green – green).

Of course, not immediately the dollar gained traditional us view portraits of American presidents. The first banknotes portrayed the Buffalo, Indians and other exotics. The familiar design dollar purchased in 1928, and he almost without changes has reached our days.

However, all dollars issued since 1863, retain the status of legal tender and must be accepted in all public and private financial institutions. So if the Bank refuses to accept your dollar bill of the late nineteenth century, feel free to create a scandal. However, no sane person with such a bill in the Bank will not go, sober reasoning, that it costs much more than it says.

On the value of the dollar

A bill in the $ 100,000 1934 for the internal calculations of the fed

Today in the United States go banknotes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 100 dollars. Most running – bills 1 and $ 20. In Russia the most popular – $ 100, which is a reflection of the inherent breadth of Russian soul, the desire for scale and scope. Until 1945 was issued the banknotes in denominations of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10 000 dollars. Since 1969, the mentioned banknotes gradually withdrawn from circulation, and to see these bills only at auctions where they are sold at prices many times higher than the face value. Remained in the hands of about 130 banknotes 10 000 dollars, and the fate of each of them is tracked by the Federal reserve system of the United States.

Produced and banknotes in denomination of $ 100,000, but in mass they were not included and used only for payments between the Treasury and the fed. So as not to Deplete the US economy, the export of notes above $ 100 from the country is prohibited. So the chance to see this rare banknote face value of 500 dollars and above the Russians are not travelling across the Atlantic, almost none. To get to Europe this bill can only be smuggling.

Banknote of 1 000 000

In 1987, an eccentric entrepreneur from Hawaii Teri Stewart, the founder of the International Association of millionaires, burned with a desire to create a bill of 1,000,000 dollars. An unusual order was fulfilled by American Bank Note Company printing real money, so design, color and degrees of protection the bill is not inferior to the "legitimate" brethren. That's just to buy her anything. Its practical value – at the level of the Odessa shillinga. This is just a "membership card" in the millionaires club Steward, and it is sold at a price from 50 to 20 dollars apiece (cheaper).

The "joke" of General de Gaulle

As for the real value of the dollar, the myth of value buried, French President General de Gaulle in 1965. He has removed all American cash from the French Treasury and sent the collected 750 million to their historical homeland, demanding to exchange them for gold at the current rate. And not – so France out of NATO, will be removed from its territory military bases "comrades in arms". De Gaulle promised a lot of surprises.

The Americans gritted his teeth, but the banknotes are exchanged. The gold reserves of the United States as a result significantly shrunk. But when the office of the President us Federal reserve Bank has a line of people wanting to change the "most reliable currency in the world" for gold, President Nixon "temporarily" imposed a ban on the exchange of dollars for gold, and since the real value of 100-dollar bills – from 3 (in 1971) to 5 (in 2005) cents.

The dollar today

Today 2/3 of all printed dollars are outside the United States. In more than 15 countries (except the US) the us dollar is the national currency. And although this is the country that without a magnifying glass on the map and can't see (Saba, Palau, Bonaire, Zimbabwe – you all heard about that?), no other currency in the world can boast such an achievement.

In many countries, the illegal dollar goes on par with the national currency. Still in the memory of the dashing 1990s, when the price of the goods the sellers shyly pointed out in "dead raccoons" (. E.). But even the most ardent opponents of the dollar do not deny that just up and abandon the dollar does not. On the dollar today keeps the entire world economy.

However, it is possible to tell and differently: the dollar took over the entire world economy − that's as you like. But the essence of the interpretation will not change: the dollar is the backbone of the modern economic system, and this will not go away, and that the $ sign appeared on 1 April, April fool's Day, there's something symbolic.

 

Author: Klim Horseshoe

Source: tainy.info/world-around/neizvestnyj-dollar/