| Silver dollars, which are the first dollar | | | | still have denominations of like value exist |
| coin issue, were minted since 1794. The | | | | only in coin. For example, there are the |
| United States of America have been minting | | | | British 50 pence coin, the Canadian loonie |
| dollar coins in gold, silver, and base metal | | | | and toonie, the 1 and 2 Australian dollar |
| varieties. A silver dollar values at one | | | | coins, the 50 New Taiwan dollar coin, the 1 |
| dollar. | | | | and 2 Euro coins, and the 100 and 500 |
| | | | Japanese yen coin, to name a few; the silver |
| The term silver dollar can be misleading. | | | | dollar values still exist in these countries. |
| While the metal silver is used, the whole | | | | |
| term actually generally refers to any large | | | | Before dollar coins or silver dollars were |
| white metal coin, with a face value of one | | | | born, paper currency was first tried out by a |
| dollar, issued by the United States of | | | | then fledgling United States. However, this |
| America. Several purists have expressed their | | | | form of money did not last long and in 1776, |
| concern about and protest against the term, | | | | the Continental Congress approved and carried |
| insisting that a dollar should not be called | | | | out plans for the production of silver coins |
| silver unless it really contains some, if not | | | | to replace the quickly failing Continental, |
| all, of the metal in question. Still, the | | | | which is what the fledgling country called |
| term silver dollar lives on to pertain to | | | | its paper currency. Unfortunately, silver |
| coins with one-dollar values. | | | | coins were never actually produced at the |
| | | | time, owing to the Revolutionary War which |
| Beginning the twentieth century, dollar coins | | | | was taking place. Thomas Jefferson, |
| or silver dollars have found a significant | | | | influenced by the failure of the Continental |
| decrease in popular acceptance in circulation | | | | and the overall distrust in paper currency |
| in the United States of America. Since 1971, | | | | that was widespread during the period, wrote |
| there have been many attempts to revive the | | | | letters indicating his desire for the United |
| silver dollars place as legal tender, with | | | | States to mint coins that have similar value |
| suggestions to phase in a coin to replace the | | | | with and worth to contemporary foreign coins. |
| one dollar bill, but all have proved futile. | | | | Indeed, such is the clamor for coins and |
| Other developed countries, on the other hand, | | | | silver dollar values. |