However, the reality was somewhat different, and though used in foreign trade, silver dollars generally did not actively circulate in the United States. Similar in size and composition to Spanish and Mexican dollars, the denomination should have been the ideal unit of commerce. The American silver dollar was first authorized by the Mint Act of April 2, 1792, where the denomination was intended to be the standard unit of the American monetary system.
The American Silver Dollar Never Had Much Currency as a Circulating Coin Some are worth a few dollars, others are worth thousands. Eisenhower Dollars were struck for circulation from 1971 to 1978.
