USD is an abbreviation for United State Dollar - the United States dollar, meaning, of course, America. It is one of the oldest and most influential world currencies, on the financial "health" of which the economies of many countries of the world depend.
The history of the dollar
Since the beginning of colonization in the 17th century, North America was considered an English colony, therefore British pounds were in circulation on its territory. But since the population of the new country increased at a rapid pace - ships with immigrants from Europe kept coming and going, the amount of pounds that were minted in the Old World was sorely lacking. The country's demand for monetary units also grew due to the rapid economic development.
After the War of Independence from England, at the end of the 18th century, the newly minted citizens of the United States of America decided to abandon all English, including the pounds, deciding to start minting their own American currency, which was called the "dollar".
A characteristic feature of both metal and paper dollars is the inscription "In God We Trust", it was first minted on 2 cents in 1864, it migrated to banknotes recently - in 1957.
The etymology of this name is not very clear, but according to one version, it comes from the Czech "thaler", which is still a bargaining chip for the local crown. The first US mint, located in Philadelphia, began minting dollars in 1794. For some time, the dollar was in circulation in the country along with the currencies of other European states, but already in 1857 it became the only legitimate US currency representing it on the world market.
The paper dollars that can be found all over the world are actually made from natural flax and cotton fibers.
Dollar today
Today, the USD, or US dollar, is the world's leading currency and serves as the primary reserve currency for all countries in the world. According to financial statistics, most of the international reserves of foreign exchange in the central banks of the most developed world powers are kept in dollars. In 2012, there were more than $ 900 billion in international circulation, while only one third of this astronomical amount is located within the United States.
Most foreign exchange transactions in the stock market are carried out with the participation of the US dollar. On exchanges, it is used as a base or quote currency, as well as for conversion in cross currencies and currency pairs with its participation. Therefore, fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate are reflected in the fluctuations in the exchange rates of almost all world currencies, including the exchange rate of the Russian ruble.
