January 2002 — Like their European counterparts, Americans have traveled the bumpy road of merging multiple currencies into a common dollar, says John J. McCusker, the Ewing Halsell Distinguished Professor of American History and professor of economics at Trinity University. The monetary excursion occurred in the 1770s as each of the young American colonies agreed to scrap their individual systems of exchange in favor of what is known today as U.S. dollars and coins.

Professor McCusker dedicates a chapter to the colonial monetary experience in his book, How Much Is That in Real Money? After the American conversion took place, he notes that many of the colonists continued to sell merchandise in their previous monetary currency, but to pay for goods with dollars and coins. An example is the sign barbers used to post on windows offering a  ”Shave and a Haircut — Two Bits.” The “bits” were known as Spanish silver “pieces of eight,” and were worth 12 ½ cents each; thus, “two bits” equaled a quarter, and Professor McCusker says men who wanted a shave and a haircut for “two bits” would readily produce a quarter when the barber finished his work.

Similar transactions will occur in Europe in the coming months, he predicts. Chicken farmers in Spain, he says, will post the price of eggs in pesetas but accept payment in euros. “It took awhile for the monetary union to take hold with the colonists, but it did, finally, and it will in Europe, too,” Professor McCusker says. 

            To learn more about Professor McCusker’s historical research, contact Susie P. Gonzalez at (210) 999-8406 or e-mail Susie.Gonzalez@Trinity.edu.