The Continental Dollar: How Much Was Really Issued?

Farley Grubb

No 13047, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The U.S. Congress issued paper money called Continental Dollars to finance the American Revolution. The story of the Continental Dollar is familiar to all -- a lot were issued and hyper-inflation ensued. However, the details of this story are less well known. Scholars even disagree over how much was issued -- disagree by over 50 percent. Meaningful monetary analysis of the Continental Dollar cannot proceed given this confusion in the data. Evidence is gathered here to reconcile past estimates and establish the exact amount and time path of Continental Dollars emitted thereby overcoming the entropy that has crept into the historical record.

JEL-codes: N1 N11 N2 N21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cba, nep-his and nep-mon
Note: DAE ME
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Published as Grubb, Farley, 2008. "The Continental Dollar: How Much Was Really Issued?," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(01), pages 283-291, March.

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