Why Do We Say “Buck” When We Mean Dollar?

Have you ever asked yourself this question?  I have.  I wonder about it for a minute, then I move on to other things probably more important.  I tell myself that I need to look it up, but then I forget until I think about it again when I am nowhere near any internet access.

Well, it finally caught up to me today, and as it happens, I'm on the computer, so I looked it up.  Are you curious?  Ok, here we go.

Back when money, the folding kind, was in short supply; I'm not talking about depression era, but back to frontier days, deer skin was considered to be a quite valuable commodity.  You've seen the movies, back then most clothing was made out of deer or "buck" skins.

Therefore, buck skins were something that people traded for goods and services, hence the term "bucks".  The term became more widely accepted by the 1870s. How much would you pay for a stack of lumber?  About 20 deer skins "bucks".  Get it?  Makes good sense, but it's funny how the term just kind of stuck with us over the years.

Once money became more readily available, the term "buck" was already locked into place, so they just kept it.  Now ask yourself...do you feel just a little bit wiser now for knowing this?