USD/PLN exchange rates

United States dollar – currency history

Coins called dollars were made in Spanish colonies in both Americas. 1 coin had the value of 8 reals – and it remained so until the end of the 17th century, when dollar became a separate national currency. The dollar symbol, a crossed out S, comes from the manner of writing the value of 1 dollar as an eight in brackets. With time, the notation underwent subsequent changes until it acquired its present form.

As for the name of dollar itself, its „great-grandfather” is thaler – a 16th-century coin minted from an ounce of silver. For many years, the value of the dollar was exchangeable for ounces of gold – dollar reference values to gold were finally abolished only in 1973.

Until the second half of the 19th century, dollars functioned only in the form of coins, and the first banknotes appeared during the Civil War in 1861. Since the beginning, dollars had its characteristic green reverse to help prevent forgery. What is interesting, each dollar banknote, regardless of its year of production, is a legal tender. So, even if you had a dollar from the 19th century, you could still use it to pay for your shopping, even today.

Dollar – information about the currency

Dollar is still considered the most stable currency in the world. Although, its buying power has declined over the centuries, it still dominates the Forex market (40% of turnover). Dollars are used to make the majority of payments and determine the value of most profitable products, such as gold, platinum and other precious metals, food, oil, and many others. The US Federal Reserve System, which was created in 1913, deals with issuing dollars and has a large impact on exchange rates, investment funds, and stock markets all over the world.

Dollar banknotes bear the portraits of the most famous US presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant) as well as other outstanding individuals: Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who contributed to the creation of the new currency – the dollar and Benjamin Franklin – one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. Coins (dollars and cents) have the „In God we trust” inscription and motifs such as eagle, portraits of presidents or architectural elements.