![]() ![]() Of course, this was not a perfect solution. The bit was the basic unit of commerce since prices were based on the bit. That half-dollar cut in half was a quarter-dollar and the quarter-dollar cut in half was called a bit. A milled dollar cut in half was a half-dollar. Using the silver value of the coin, people would cut the coin into pieces in order to make subsidiary coinage. Colonists were able to make do with what was left.Ī problem came about that everything could not be worth 8 reales and without subsidiary coinage, it was impossible to give change. With the trade of high-cost goods like tobacco, cotton, and hides caught in the Appalachian Mountains the colonies relied more on the Spanish Milled Dollar than on the copper British coins.Ĭolonial governors ignored the growing economy, as they were able to satisfy the companies that sponsored the settlements and paid the taxes while lining their pockets. Instead, trading posts accepted the 8 reales coin, also known as the Thaler or Spanish Milled Dollar, as payment for goods and services. They also took kickbacks and bribes in order to get their way.Īlthough the Pound Sterling was the coin of the realm it was not available to the colonies. Governors could levy duties to run the colonies. Notice that there were no taxes because only the king could tax the royal subjects. Instead, they applied duties and fees for allowing the colonists to trade with the rest of the Western Hemisphere. An exception was made during a small period in the 17th century, colonists had to make due with the low-value copper coinage the king and his governors allowed.Įven with a standing army in the colonies, the governors could not control the commerce. Although the king ruled from an ocean away, the governors sent to manage the colonies on his behalf were under strict orders to not allow the colonists to coin money. When the colonies were settled, George I was the King of England. Since it is more blessed to give rather than receive, it gave me the opportunity to teach someone about the origin of money in the United States. Those younger than being eligible for AARP and those born outside of the United States did not understand. To the few people in the room within my age group, they understood what I said. ![]() In a comment about a technical issue, I was trying to explain that something would not work and exclaimed, “That isn’t worth two-bits.” For some adages, things are not always what they seem which makes appearances deceiving. Some are centuries old when it was really something special when a penny saved was a penny earned. Jay-Z's Big Hit: a Carnival Marshall Heyman 2011The original bit coin.Let’s not put the cart before the horse. Getty Images Jay-Z enjoying his carnival This was no two-bit carnival you might have had at your high school with a few beanbags, some class clown and a dunk tank. When was this upgraded to two-bit? one maybe one and a half at a stretch.Ĭheeseburger Gothic » This way ladies, if you would care to follow me. Richard (RJ) Eskow: The "Banker Gangs" Are Still On the Loose, and the Justice Department Still Won't Come Clean RJ 2011 Its "Interagency Task Force" against lending fraud with a lot of fanfare, for example, it turned out to be vaporware, a small-time operation that targeted two-bit grifters and petty crime rings but avoided any investigation of big-bank systemic fraud. Jason Salzman: Heck-of-a-Job Brownie Blames Katrina Victims Jason Salzman 2011 In other words, you could probably move on and avoid your past, like you couldn't do if you were a two-bit historical figure with a name like, say, Robert Bork. Who wants to see their religious traditions disrespected by foreigners strolling about and taking pictures as if the congregants were morons to be fodder for their two-bit family slide show back in Dubuque?Īny Chiapas backroad driving experts? 2009 ![]()
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