Abstracts of Papers Presented at the Annual Meeting
重构了大陆币的历史，指出其本质是零息债券而非法定货币，并通过分析1779年国会追溯性法律如何导致其崩溃，区分了贴现与贬值。
An alternative history of the continental dollar is constructed from the original laws passed by Congress. The continental dollar was a zero-interest bearer bond, not a fiat currency. The public could redeem it at face value in specie from the National Treasury at fixed future dates. How, when, and where the public was informed of this is traced through available broadsides and newspapers. Being a zero-interest bearer bond, a continental dollar's current value was the reduction off its face value discounted back from its future redemption date. Discounting must be separated from depreciation to determine when the continental dollar collapsed. There was no depreciation before 1779, only discounting. Congress' ex post facto law of 14 January 1779 that altered the redemption dates of past continental dollars and did so in a way that was not fiscally credible was the turning point. Free-fall depreciation and collapse followed hard on this legislation.