daler

ダラー　—　Names of money

The form the word thaler took when it entered English.

Busto Dollar1778 Flowing Hair dollar1794 Draped Bust dollarDated 1796

The silver thaler from a Bohemian valley became the daalder in the Low German language, and the dollar in English parlance. In English records, the form 'daler' appeared around 1550, changing to 'dollar' around 1600.

The silver lion coin that circulated around New Amsterdam was called the Lion Dollar, and the custom of calling large silver coins 'dollars' was passed on to the Spanish 8 reales. In 1792, the United States established its own dollar based on the measured specifications of this silver coin.

⚠ One must not tell a simple, linear story of the Lion Dollar being the ancestor of the dollar. The lion coin carried the name, while the Spanish 8 reales became the standard of value.