Dollar is the name of several currencies, including those of Australia, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, the United States, and previously Zimbabwe. The U.S. dollar is the official currency of East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, the Caribbean Netherlands, and for banknotes, Panama. Generally, one dollar is divided into one hundred cents.
On 15 January 1520, the kingdom of Bohemia began minting coins from silver mined locally in Joachimsthal. The coins were called “Joachimsthaler,” which became shortened in common usage to thaler or taler. The German name Joachimsthal literally means Joachim’s valley or Joachim’s dale. This name found its way into other languages: Czech tolar, Hungarian tallér,Danish and Norwegian (rigs) daler, Swedish (riks) daler, Icelandic dalur,Dutch (rijks)daalder or daler, Ethiopian ታላሪ (“talari”), Italian tallero, Polishtalar, Persian Dare, as well as – via Dutch – into English as dollar.
A later Dutch coin depicting a lion was called the leeuwendaler or leeuwendaalder, literally ‘lion daler’. The Dutch Republic produced these coins to accommodate its booming international trade. The leeuwendaler circulated throughout the Middle East and was imitated in several German and Italian cities. This coin was also popular in theDutch East Indies and in the Dutch New Netherland Colony (New York).
It was in circulation throughout the Thirteen Colonies during the 17th and early 18th centuries and was popularly known as lion (or lyon) dollar. The modern American-English pronunciation of dollar is still remarkably close to the 17th century Dutch pronunciation of daler. Some well-worn examples circulating in the Colonies were known as “dog dollars”.
