stackyFACTSBefore central banking existed, North American colonists had to figure out how to buy whiskey without cash.
Before central banking existed, North American colonists had to figure out how to buy whiskey without cash. They resorted to trading animal pelts, with the skin of a male deer—a 'buck'—becoming the standard unit of value. A barrel of supplies might cost you five bucks (literally five dead deerskins). The phrase stubbornly stuck around for three centuries, effectively ensuring we still reference dead wildlife every time we buy a latte.
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