17 Dec
2003
17 Dec
'03
11:17 p.m.
Derek writes:
As far as I know, the legal definition of a "dollar" in the US is still a certain weight of silver, and payment in silver legally satisfies debts; under current silver prices, that probably costs more than a $1 US Federal Reserve Note, so nobody bothers.
Uhh, no, US currency does not have any backing. I believe it was Nixon who stopped it, possibly even earlier than him. There _used_ to be Gold- and Silver-backed dollars, but no longer.
Correct. Nixon dismantled the Breton Woods system in (I think) '71. -- Mark Chen chen@intuit.com 415/329-6913 finger for PGP public key D4 99 54 2A 98 B1 48 0C CF 95 A5 B0 6E E0 1E 1D