DOLLAR is the name of a coin, and the unit in the monetary system, of the United States. The origin of the name deserves notice. Dollar is a variety of the Ger. thaler, Low Ger. dahler, Dan. dater; and the word came to signify a coin thus: About the end of the 15th c., the counts of Schlick coined the silver extracted from their mines at Joachims-thal (Joachim's valley) into ounce-pieces, which received the name of Joa chims-thaler—the Ger. adjective from the name of the place (" Joachims-dalers," as it were). These coins gained such a reputation, that they became a kind of pattern; and others of the same kind, though made in other places, took the name, only dropping the first part of the word for shortness. The American dollar is taken from the old Spanish dollar or piastre, and is only slightly less. It was formerly only of silver; but in 1873 the gold dollar was made the unit of value in the United States. In 1878, however, silver was " remonetized," and so now shares with gold the rank of standard money. Since 1837, the silver dollar is required to contain 412+ troy grains, or 26.4246 Fr.
grammes, the fineness of which is fixed at i.e., 76 of it is alloy. In the standard silver of Great Britain, is alloy. The United States dollar is generally estimated in exchange at 49. 2d. sterling. Besides dollars, there are coined in silver, dimes dol.), del.), and three-cent pieces. With regard to these, it was enacted in 1853, that the weight of the half-dollar shall be 192 grains, and that of the others proportional to this; and that such silver coins shall be legal ten dens for all sums not exceeding five dollars. Accounts are kept in dollars and cents, or hundredths of a dollar, which are written thus: $13.78—thirteen dollars and seventy eight cents. The standard gold of the United States is of the same fineness as the silver =namely, A; and of this are coined double-eagles, eagles, half-eagles, and quarter eagles, of 20, 10, 5, and 2+ dollars, besides three-dollar and one-dollar pieces. The dol lar or thaler in Germany had various values. That of Prussia, which was most current, was equivalent to 3s. sterling.