This was listed as a useless fact but I found it interesting just for our own 
knowledge on a bit of monetary value of our early ancestors. Hope no one 
minds that I posted it. 
Marlene



useless fact - Why do we call the dollar a "dollar" and a 
buck a "buck"?

"Dollar" comes from "Joachimsthaler," a coin made in the 16th
century at a mint near a silver mine in Joachimsthal, in
what is now the Czech Republic. "Joachimsthal" means
"Joachim's  dale," dale being another word for valley. 
"Joachimsthaler" was soon shortened to "thaler." The Dutch made 
it into "daler," and the English finished the job by making it 
into "dollar." The name "thaler" or "dollar" has been used for 
different coins at different times. In colonial America it was 
given to the Spanish dollar, a large silver coin known as 
a "piece of eight" that was widely used for trade even after the 
Revolutionary War. When the American government established its 
own money in 1785, it was only natural that the basic unit of 
money should be called the "dollar." (No dollars were actually 
minted until 1794— till then we just kept using the Spanish 
stuff.) The origin of "buck," the slang term for dollar, is a 
little less clear. The best theory is that "buck" comes from the 
frontier practice of trading goods to the Indians for buckskins—
that is, the skin of a male deer. If an Indian with some skins to 
unload came to a trading post and asked what a certain item cost, 
the trader might say, "It'll cost you two bucks," meaning two 
buckskins. Later the term came to signify dollars. Just as well. 
Dollar bills may not be as much fun as buckskin, but they're a 
lot easier to fit in your wallet.

    

    



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