TY  - JOUR
AU  - Grubb,Farley
TI  - The Continental Dollar: What Happened to It after 1779?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 13770
PY  - 2008
Y2  - February 2008
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13770
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13770.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Farley Grubb
University of Delaware
Economics Department
Newark, DE  19716
Tel: 302/831-1905
Fax: 302/831-6968
E-Mail: grubbf@udel.edu
AB  - 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.
ER  -