(Credit to Wikipedia Editors for this photo)
The United States Dollar, one of the strongest currencies in the world, is known all around the globe. But what are the origins of this currency? How did It come to be? The US dollar is truly an amalgamation of borrowed design styles and nomenclature from all across Europe.
The dollar wasn’t always the crisp green note you see today, it has undergone many changes, and was once a shiny silver coin!
At its core, the word “Dollar” derives from the German “Thaler” which has been the name of many germanic currencies, dating back all the way to the medieval period! The most notable users of the Thaler have been the Holy Roman Empire (800-1806) and the kingdoms of Austria. Variations of the Thaler could even be found in Poland in the medieval and renaissance period!
Five different Thaler’s from the renaissance and late medieval period with a US quarter for scale.
(Credit to wikipedia editors for this image)
Not only does the US dollar have influences from the German Thaler’s, it is also impacted heavily by the Spanish Reales. For a long period of time, American colonies called the Reales a “Spanish Dollar”. Furthermore, even the dollar symbol ($) derives from the Spanish reales, as it is shown in the picture below.
(Credit to https://www.iberdrola.com for this amazing resource)
The Dollar is a fascinating currency with rich and interesting history, and in this blog I probably wasn’t even able to scratch the surface of the complexities of the Dollar.
All Spanish Reales from the House of Bourbon (A Royal Spanish House) have the wrapped pillars, including this one from 1808.
Nummi Antiqua 
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