[log in to unmask] wrote:
> In a message dated 97-10-22 14:31:20 EDT, you write:
>   Can anyone out there provide any information on when New Yorkers stopped
>   using the British system of pounds, shilling, and pence? In 1797 the state
>   legislature officially endorsed the decimal dollar system established by
>   Congress in the 1792 Coinage Act, but I seem to recall that some people
>   continued to use the British system as late as the 1820s. I have no
>   idea why, however.
> There might be some information on the U.S. Treasury Department's web site.
> It is at http://www.ustreas.gov

Now turn the tables around:  York (a diminuation of New York) Currency persisted
across Lake Ontario into the 1820s as a common currency of account (as distinct from
coinage).

In 1821 the legislature of Upper Canada (present day Ontario) "passed an act
reaffirming the use of Halifax currency and providing sanctions against the use of
York Currency. After 1 July 1822 only accounts kept on the basis of five shillings
currency per dollar would be accepted by the provincial government and contracts
using the old York currency would not be binding." Despite this it appears that York
currency was used in parts of the province as late as 1840. [quoting from A. B.
McCullough, _Money and exchange in Canada to 1900_, pp. 91-92.]

Walter Lewis
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