Continental currency

Continental currency were the paper notes issued by the Continental Congress to help finance the American Revolution. They entitled the bearer to receive "Spanish milled dollars, or the value thereof in gold or silver" but were never so redeemed. The original issue of $2,000,000 was authorized on June 22, 1775. By the end of 1779, the total issued reached $241,522,280. Two years later they were worthless. In 1790, after they had been out of circulation for almost ten years, the new government agreed to redeem them at one new dollar for every 40 continental dollars, but only six or seven million were ever presented for redemption.