Re-read what was originally written carefully -- it claims neither that the dollar is backed nor that paper dollars are exchangable for silver.
.pm
I interpreted ". . . the legal definition of a 'dollar' in the US is still a certain weight of silver" to imply both. Apologies if I misconstrued.
Mark Chen says: 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
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