The dollar (
currency code USD) is the unit of
currency of the
United States. It is normally abbreviated as the
dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other
dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. The U.S. dollar is divided into 100
cents.Adopted by the United States on
July 6,
1785, the U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions. Several countries use the U.S. dollar as their official currency, and many others allow it to be used in a
de facto capacity. In 1995, over US $380
billion were in circulation, two-thirds of which was outside the United States. By 2005, that figure had doubled to nearly $760 billion, with an estimated half to two-thirds being held overseas, representing an annual growth rate of about 7.6%. However, as of December 2006, the dollar was surpassed by the
euro in terms of combined value of cash in circulation. The value of euro notes in circulation had risen to more than €610 billion, equivalent to US$802 billion at the exchange rates at the time.
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