Paydirt Dollars

Paydirt Dollars is the term used to refer to the in-game dollar which is based on the historical U.S. dollar. While not a Virtual Currency, it is used to express the value of the in-game currencies, including Gold Dust and Gold Coins, and the price of in-game goods and services. In Paydirt, as it was in the 19th-century, gold is money, and the value of pure gold is fixed at $20.67 Paydirt Dollars.

The Coinage Act of 1834 established the U.S. statutory price of gold at $20.67 per troy ounce and it remained at that price until 1933.

While the value of gold was set by law historically in order to facilitate its use as currency, the prices for goods and services fluctuated due to supply and demand.

The California Gold Rush predates the use of paper currency as legal tender by the United States Government. In fact, legal tender laws didn’t exist back then. Everyday commerce was settled using gold or silver coins of mostly foreign origin and there was very little European or American coinage circulating. Only private banks were issuing paper currency in the form of bank notes during this time.

Paper currency had previously been used by the newly independent colonies, the first plates of which were manufactured by none other than Paul Revere after authorization by the Continental Congress to fund the Revolutionary War. However, it depreciated rapidly, giving rise to the expression, “not worth a Continental.”

The U.S. Government also issued “Treasury notes” on a limited basis during times of crisis such as the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War of 1846, and the Panic of 1857.

Paper currency without the backing of gold, also known as fiat, was only ever used in times of war (e.g., the Civil War era greenback) until Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard in 1971, which ultimately led to what is now known as Nixon shock.