The Continental Dollar: What Happened to It after 1779?

Farley Grubb

No 13770, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Congress financed the American Revolution by issuing paper Continental Dollars. The story of the Continental Dollar is familiar to all -- a lot were issued and hyper-inflation ensued. Emissions were permanently discontinued in 1779. Thereafter, they became worthless and were forgotten. They had no impact on subsequent public finance. The veracity of the last part of this story is challenged here. Evidence is presented to establish that the disposition of the Continental Dollar remained an open question well into the 1790s. Evidence is also presented to establish the exact time path of the retirement of Continental Dollars between 1779 and 1790.

JEL-codes: N1 N11 N2 N21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008-02
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Published as “State Redemption of the Continental Dollar, 1779-90,” William and Mary Quarterly, 3d ser., vol. 69, no. 1 (Jan. 2012), pp. 147-180.

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