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{{Infobox currency
|currency_name_in_local =
|image_1 =
|image_title_1 = [[Flowing Hair Dollar|Original U.S. dollar]] 
[[Coinage Act of 1792]]
|image_2 = 2009NativeAmericanRev.jpg
|image_title_2 = [[Sacagawea dollar|Current U.S. dollar]] 
[[31 USC]] 5112(a)(1)
|iso_code = USD
|using_countries = {{flagicon|USA}} [[United States|United States of America]]
{{Collapsible list
|title = 16 U.S. territories
|''{{flag|Puerto Rico}}<br />{{flag|Northern Mariana Islands}}<br />{{flag|U.S. Virgin Islands}}<br />{{flag|American Samoa}}<br />{{flag|Guam}}<br />{{flag|United States Minor Outlying Islands}}''
}}
|unofficial_users =
{{Collapsible list|titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;
|title = 10 other countries
|{{flag|Afghanistan}}<ref>US Dollar and [[Pakistani rupee]] are widely accepted.</ref><br />{{flag|Cambodia}}<ref>Alongside [[Cambodian Riel]]</ref><br />{{flag|East Timor}}<ref>Alongside [[East Timor centavo coins]]</ref><br />{{ECU}}<ref>Alongside [[Ecuadorian centavo coins]]</ref><br />{{flag|El Salvador}}<ref>[[Salvadoran colón]] is now used only by some banks in few electronic transactions.</ref><br />{{flag|Marshall Islands}}<br />{{flag|Federated States of Micronesia}}<br />{{flag|Palau}}<br />{{flag|Panama}}<ref>Alongside [[Panamanian balboa]] coins</ref><br />{{flag|Zimbabwe}}<ref>Alongside [[Zimbabwean dollar]] (suspended indefinitely from 12 April 2009), [[Euro]], [[Pound Sterling]], [[South African rand]] and [[Botswana pula]]. The US Dollar has been adopted as the official currency for all government transactions.</ref><br />
}}
{{Collapsible list|titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;
|title = 4 non-U.S. territories
|''{{flag|British Indian Ocean Territory}} <small>([[UK]])</small><br />{{flag|British Virgin Islands}} <small>([[UK]])</small><br />{{flag|Turks and Caicos Islands}} <small>([[UK]])</small><br />{{flag|Bermuda}} <small>([[UK]])''</small><ref>Alongside [[Bermudian dollar]])</ref>
}}
|inflation_rate =  [[CPI]] inflation rate
|inflation_source_date = 2.14% [http://inflationdata.com/inflation/Inflation_Rate/HistoricalInflation.aspx?dsInflation_currentPage=0]'' March 2010.
|pegged_by =
{{Collapsible list 
 |title = 23 currencies
 |''[[Aruban florin]]''<br />[[Bahamian dollar]] (at par)<br />[[Bahraini dinar]]<br />[[Barbadian dollar]]<br />[[Belize dollar]]<br />[[Belarusian ruble]]<br />''[[Bermudian dollar]]'' (at par)<br />''[[Cayman Islands dollar]]''<br />[[Cuban convertible peso]]<br />[[Djiboutian franc]]<br />[[East Caribbean dollar]]<br />[[Eritrean nakfa]]<br />''[[Hong Kong dollar]]'' (narrow band)<br />[[Jordanian dinar]]<br />[[Lebanese pound]]<br />[[Maldivian rufiyaa]]<br />''[[Netherlands Antillean gulden]]''<br />[[Omani rial]]<br />[[Panamanian balboa]] (at par)<br />[[Qatari riyal]]<br />[[Saudi riyal]]<br />''[[Sealand Dollar]]''<br />[[United Arab Emirates dirham]]
}}
|subunit_ratio_1 = 1/10
|subunit_name_1 = [[Dime (United States coin)|Dime]]
|subunit_ratio_2 = 1/100
|subunit_name_2 = [[Cent (United States coin)|Cent]]
|subunit_ratio_3 = 1/1000
|subunit_name_3 = [[Mill (currency)|Mill]] (''only used in accounting'')
|symbol =[[Dollar sign|$]]
|symbol_subunit_2 = ¢ 
|nickname = Buck, paper, smacker, and [[greenback]]. Plural: dough, bread. Also, Washingtons, Jeffersons, Lincolns, Jacksons, Benjamins, and Hamiltons are used based on denomination; also [[peso]] in [[Puerto Rico]], and [[piastre]] in Cajun [[Louisiana]]. 
|frequently_used_coins = [[cent (United States coin)|1¢]], [[Nickel (United States coin)|5¢]], [[Dime (United States coin)|10¢]], [[Quarter (United States coin)|25¢]]<!-- The denominations are written as they appear on the coins per infobox style at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template_talk:Infobox Currency -->
|rarely_used_coins = [[Half dollar (United States coin)|50¢]], [[Dollar (United States coin)|$1]]{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}
|coin_article = Coins of the United States dollar
|frequently_used_banknotes = [[United States one-dollar bill|$1]], [[United States five-dollar bill|$5]], [[United States ten-dollar bill|$10]], [[United States twenty-dollar bill|$20]], [[United States fifty-dollar bill|$50]], [[United States one hundred-dollar bill|$100]]
|rarely_used_banknotes = [[United States two-dollar bill|$2]]
|banknote_article = Federal Reserve Note
|issuing_authority = [[Federal Reserve System]]
|issuing_authority_website = {{URL|www.federalreserve.gov}}
|printer = [[Bureau of Engraving and Printing]]
|printer_website = {{URL|www.moneyfactory.gov}}
|mint = [[United States Mint]]
|mint_website = {{URL|www.usmint.gov}}
|footnotes = 
}}

The '''United States dollar''' ([[currency sign|sign]]: '''[[Dollar sign|$]]'''; [[ISO 4217|code]]: '''USD''') was first coined in 1794. It was made of a silver alloy and it was designated by law as having "the value of a [[Spanish milled dollar]]". The current U.S. dollar was first coined in 2000 and it is made of a copper alloy. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the [[dollar sign]], '''$''', or as '''USD''' or '''US$''' to distinguish it from other [[dollar]]-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol.  It is divided into 100 [[cent (currency)|cents]].

The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in [[international trade|international transactions]].<ref>[http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pdf/pf_4.pdf The Implementation of Monetary Policy - The Federal Reserve in the International Sphere]</ref> Several countries [[Dollarization|use it as their official currency]], and in many others it is the [[de facto currency]].<ref>Benjamin J. Cohen, ''The Future of Money'', Princeton University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-691-11666-0}}; ''cf.'' "the dollar is the de facto currency in Cambodia", Charles Agar, ''Frommer's Vietnam'', 2006, {{ISBN|0-471-79816-9}}, p. 17</ref>

==Overview==
The word "dollars" is one of the words in the first paragraph of [[Article_One_of_the_United_States_Constitution#Section_9:_Limits_on_Congress|Section 9]] of Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America. In that context, "dollars" is a reference to the [[Spanish milled dollar]], a coin that had a value of eight Spanish monetary units, or [[Spanish real|reales]]. 

The fifth paragraph of [[Article_One_of_the_United_States_Constitution#Enumerated_powers|Section 8]] of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution provides that "Congress shall have the power to... coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin". Congress exercised those powers by adopting the [[Coinage Act of 1792|Coinage Act of 1792:]] ''"An act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States"''. Section 9 of that act authorized the production of various coins, including "DOLLARS OR UNITS—each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or four hundred and sixteen grains of standard silver". The first U.S. dollar was known as the [[Flowing Hair Dollar]] and it contained 416 [[Grain (mass)|grains]] of "standard silver" (89.25% [[silver]] and 10.75% [[copper]]).

In 1971 the United States began issuing [[Eisenhower Dollar|Eisenhower dollars]], which were made of a copper alloy. In 2000 the United States began issuing [[Sacagawea dollar|Sacagawea dollars]], which are also made of a copper alloy. The Sacagawea dollar is  being minted and issued in accordance with Section 5112(a)(1) of [[Title 31 of the United States Code]].<ref name="Section5112">{{cite web
|url = http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/31/5112.html
|title = Section 5112 of Title 31 of the United States Code
|accessdate = 2010-03-16
}}</ref>

The original U.S. dollar was a [[commodity money]]. It was valuable because, like the average Spanish milled dollar, it contained 0.7737 [[troy ounce]] of silver. That amount of silver has a current market value of about $13.73 (0.7737 troy ounces x $17.75 per troy ounce). In contrast, the current U.S. dollar is [[fiat money]]. It has value because it is designated by law as a [[legal tender]] in the payment of debts. The market value of the copper and other metals in a current U.S. dollar is much less than the coin's face value of $1. The copper and other metals in it have a market value of only about $0.06 (six cents).<ref name="MeltValue">{{cite web
|url = http://www.coinflation.com/coins/2000-2007-Sacagawea-Golden-Dollar-Value.html#meltvalue
|title = Melt value of the current U.S. dollar.
|accessdate = 2010-04-18
}}</ref>

The Constitution provides that "a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time".<ref>[http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei#section9 Paragraph 7 of Section 9 of Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America.]</ref> That provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code.<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode31/usc_sec_31_00000331----000-.html Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code.]</ref> The sums of money reported in the "Statements" are currently being expressed in U.S. dollars (for example, see the ''2009 Financial Report of the United States Government'').<ref>[http://www.gao.gov/financial/fy2009/09frusg.pdf ''2009 Financial Report of the United States Government.'']</ref> The U.S. dollar may therefore be described as the [[unit of account]] of the United States.

The U.S. dollar bill uses the decimal system, consisting of 100 equal cents (symbol ¢). In another division, there are 1,000 ''[[mill (currency)|mills]]'' or ten ''dimes'' to a dollar, or 4 quarters to a dollar. However, only cents are in everyday use as divisions of the dollar; "dime" is used solely as the name of the [[Dime (U.S. coin)|coin]] with the value of 10¢, while "eagle" and "mill" are largely unknown to the general public, though mills are sometimes used in matters of [[tax]] levies and [[gasoline]] prices. When currently issued in circulating form, denominations equal to or less than a dollar are emitted as [[Coins of the United States dollar|U.S. coins]] while denominations equal to or greater than a dollar are emitted as [[Federal Reserve Note|Federal Reserve notes]] (with the exception of gold, silver and platinum coins valued up to $100 as legal tender, but worth far more as bullion). Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the note form is significantly more common. In the past, "paper money" was occasionally issued in denominations less than a dollar ([[Treasury (Coin) Note|fractional currency]]) and gold coins were issued for [[circulation (currency)|circulation]] up to the value of [[Double eagle|$20]] (known as the "double eagle," discontinued in the 1930s). The term ''[[eagle (coin)|eagle]]'' was used in the [[Coinage Act of 1792]] for the denomination of ten dollars, and subsequently was used in naming [[gold]] coins. In 1854, [[James Guthrie (American politician)|James Guthrie]], then [[Secretary of the Treasury]], proposed creating $100, $50 and $25 gold coins, which were referred to as a "Union," "Half Union," and "Quarter Union,"<ref>Mehl, B. Max. "United States $50.00 Gold Pieces, 1877", in ''Star Rare Coins Encyclopedia and Premium Catalogue'' (20th edition, 1921)</ref> thus implying a denomination of 1 Union = $100.

Today, USD notes are made from [[cotton]] fiber paper, unlike most common [[paper]], which is made of wood fiber. U.S. coins are produced by the [[United States Mint]]. U.S. dollar [[banknote]]s are printed by the [[Bureau of Engraving and Printing]], and, since 1914, have been issued by the [[Federal Reserve]]. The "[[large-sized note]]s" issued before 1928 measured {{convert|7.42|in|mm}} by {{convert|3.125|in|mm}}; [[small-sized note]]s, introduced that year, measure {{convert|6.14|in|mm}} by {{convert|2.61|in|mm}} by {{convert|0.0043|in|mm}}.
[[Image:One US dollar 1917.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Series of 1917 $1 [[United States Note]]]]





<ref>[http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/articlei#section8 Paragraph 5 of Section 8 of Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America.]</ref>

==Value==
The 5th paragraph of [[Article_One_of_the_United_States_Constitution#Enumerated_powers|Section 8]] of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution provides that the U.S. Congress shall have the power to "coin money" and to "regulate the value" of domestic and foreign coins. Congress exercised those powers when it enacted the [[Coinage Act of 1792]]. That Act provided for the minting of the [[Flowing Hair Dollar|first U.S. dollar]] and it declared that the U.S. dollar shall have "the value of a [[Spanish milled dollar]] as the same is now current".<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=001/llsl001.db&recNum=371 Section 9 of the Coinage Act of 1792.]</ref> 

===Purchasing power===
The following chart shows that the value or [[purchasing power]] of the U.S. dollar cyclically increased and decreased until the enactment of the [[Federal Reserve Act]] in 1913. Since that time, the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar has diminished significantly. According to the [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] ''Inflation Calculator'',<ref>[http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl Bureau of Labor Statistics ''Inflation Calculator.'']</ref> "$1 in 1913 has the same buying power as $21.89 in 2010". In other words, the U.S. dollar has lost about 95% of its value since the establishment of the [[Federal Reserve System]]. 
[[Image:Dollar_value_chart.png|thumb|left|800px|The value of $1 over time, in 1776 dollars.<ref>[http://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/ Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2007 from measuringworth.com]</ref>]]






















The following table shows the equivalent amount of goods that, in a particular year, could be purchased with $1.<ref>{{cite web| title = Measuring Worth - Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2007 | url=http://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/ | accessdate = 2008-05-24}}</ref> The table shows that from 1774 through 2008 the U.S. dollar lost about 97% of its buying power, and that from 1980 through 2008 the U.S. dollar lost 62% of its buying power.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|+ '''Buying power of one U.S. dollar compared to 1980 USD'''
|-
!&nbsp;Year&nbsp;
!style="width: 40pt; font-size: 95%;"|&nbsp;Equivalent&nbsp; buying power

!&nbsp;Year&nbsp;
!style="width: 40pt; font-size: 95%;"|&nbsp;Equivalent&nbsp; buying power

!&nbsp;Year&nbsp;
!style="width: 40pt; font-size: 95%;"|&nbsp;Equivalent&nbsp; buying power
|- 
|1774||&nbsp;$10.53||1860||&nbsp;$10.22||1950||&nbsp;$3.42
|-
|1780||&nbsp;$6.20||1870||&nbsp;$6.51||1960||&nbsp;$2.78
|-
|1790||&nbsp;$9.30||1880||&nbsp;$8.31||1970||&nbsp;$2.12
|-
|1800||&nbsp;$6.77||1890||&nbsp;$9.34||'''1980'''||&nbsp;'''$1.00'''
|-
|1810||&nbsp;$6.91||1900||&nbsp;$10.12||1990||&nbsp;$0.63
|-
|1820||&nbsp;$7.25||1910||&nbsp;$8.94||2000||&nbsp;$0.48
|-
|1830||&nbsp;$9.21||1920||&nbsp;$4.11||2007||&nbsp;$0.40
|-
|1840||&nbsp;$9.83||1930||&nbsp;$4.93||2008||&nbsp;$0.38
|-
|1850||&nbsp;$10.88||1940||&nbsp;$5.87||||
|}

===Monetary inflation===
The supply of United States dollars, as measured by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis "Adjusted Monetary Base",<ref>[http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/AMBNS St. Louis Adjusted Monetary Base.]</ref> increased by approximately 150% between January 1, 2008 and February 1, 2010. This increase in the [[money supply]] is an example of very rapid [[monetary inflation]]. Economists generally agree that excessive growth of the money supply can cause high rates of [[price inflation]] and [[hyperinflation]].<ref>[[Robert Barro]] and Vittorio Grilli (1994). ''European Macroeconomics'', Ch. 8, p. 139, Fig. 8.1. Houndmills, Basingstoke [England]: Macmillan Press. {{ISBN|0333577647}}.</ref>
[[Image:St Louis Adjusted Monetary Base Chart.jpg|none|thumb|460px|St. Louis Adjusted Monetary Base]]

===Price inflation===

[[Price inflation]] is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.<ref>[[Oliver Blanchard]] (2000). ''Macroeconomics'' (2nd ed.), Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall, {{ISBN|013013306x}}</ref> Economists view price inflation as a result or necessary outcome of monetary inflation.

A [[consumer price index]] (CPI) is a measure estimating the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The [[United States Consumer Price Index]] is a measure estimating the average price of consumer goods and services in the United States. The following chart shows that the average price of consumer goods and services in the United States has been rising significantly since the 1970s.
[[Image:US Consumer Price Index Graph.svg|none|thumb|460px|US Consumer Price Index, starting in 1913]]

==References==
<references/>