The Currency Crisis of 1779: “Not Worth a Continental.” (2024)

FAQs

The Currency Crisis of 1779: “Not Worth a Continental.”? ›

By 1779, the Continental had depreciated to pennies on the dollar and inflation reached nearly 50 percent, giving rise to the expression “not worth a Continental.” Congress considered a number of remedies including devaluation, raising taxes, and tying currency issuance to future tax receipts—like a revenue bond—but ...

In spite of giving rise to the phrase 'not worth a Continental'—meaning utterly worthless—Continental Currency was of great value in financing the Revolutionary War.

Key Takeaways. Continentals refers to paper currency issued by the Continental Congress in 1775 to help fund the American Revolutionary War. Continentals quickly lost value, partly because they were not backed by a physical asset like gold or silver, but also due to the fact that too many bills were printed.

With no authority to tax, the Continental Congress was unable to prevent deep depreciation of its paper currency, and coupled with the widespread circulation of British counterfeit bills, gave rise to the phrase “Not Worth a Continental.”

During the American Revolution, a cash-strapped Continental Congress accepted loans from France. Paying off these and other debts incurred during the Revolution proved one of the major challenges of the post-independence period.

These coins are quite rare. Originals are valued at between $1,000 (in poorer condition) to about $15,000 is excellent condition. However, many reproductions and replicas have been made over the years for collectors; these reproductions have little or no market value.

L.S.C. Answer: There used to be a popular expression that something wasn't worth a Continental. The expression refers to your bills (also coins). But it's not entirely true. Continental currency refers to bills such as yours that were issued to finance the American Revolution.

Though a gold three-dollar coin was produced in the 1800s, and the Bahamian dollar (which is pegged to the US dollar) has a $3 banknote, no three-dollar bill has ever been produced in the United States. Various fake US$3 bills have also been released over time.

Continental currency. After the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, the Continental Congress began issuing paper money known as Continental currency, or Continentals.

Did the US ever pay back France? ›

The French gave their final loan in 1782 and slowly received payback from the USA government until 1795 when James Swan, an American banker, bought the debt off France and turned it into a domestic debt.

1 Answer. During the period between the Revolution and the Constitution, the states were joined in the Articles of Confederation. The Articles didn't include a position called "President" (and in fact opposed the notion of a strong executive).

Debts incurred during the American Revolutionary War amounted to over $75 million by January 1, 1791. Over the next 45 years, the debt continued to grow until 1835 when it notably shrank due to the sale of federally-owned lands and cuts to the federal budget.

not worth a Continental (not comparable) (US, idiomatic) worthless, lacking in value, especially due to economic inflation. synonym ▲ Synonyms: see Thesaurus:worthless.

A continental is someone who comes from the continent of Europe. [British, informal] 3. adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE] If you describe someone or something as continental, you think that they are typical of the continent of Europe.

The phrase “not worth a Continental” is coined after the Continental Congress issues paper currency to finance the Revolutionary War, currency that quickly loses its value because of a lack of solid backing and the rise of counterfeiting.

The Continental is a international chain of luxury hotels that function as neutral territories for members of the criminal underworld. They are frequented by many hitmen and high-end criminals.