3. One problem that the U.S. faced when rebelling against the British was currency. While under
British control, colonists mainly used British paper money and foreign coins. But after forming a
new nation, the Americans needed their own currency. They created Continental currency.
Congress issued over 240 million Continental Dollars during the Revolution. Unfortunately,
these dollars soon dropped in value. This gave rise to the popular expression, "not worth a
Continental." By the end of 1778, Continentals were worth 1/5th of their face value. By 1780,
they were worth 1/40th. In the 1790s, the U.S. bought back Continentals for 1% of their printed
value. One reason for this decline was economic warfare. During the war the British hired artists
to counterfeit Continental Dollars. Then they funneled large amounts of these counterfeit notes
into the American economy. The value of the Continental Dollar crashed. When people complain
about today's inflation rates, I tell them about Continentals.