Back in the old days when Karlovy Vary was originally known as Carlsbad, it developed an historical impact on what would become the American monetary system.It is located in a region known then and now as Bohemia. In our current political boundary systems it is in the western edge of the Czech Republic, near the German border.According to both Wikipedia and History World's websites* the name of our national unit of currency, the dollar, originated from a silver mining area there. "One of the most resonant names among modern currencies, that of the dollar, derives from a somewhat later coin - the large silver Joachimsthaler, widely known as the thaler, which is minted from 1517 in Bohemia and is named from the silver mines at Joachimsthal (Jáchymov in Czech)."If you go to Google Maps and enter "Jáchymov" you will see that it is about 20 km north and east from Karlovy Vary. In fact, it is in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.So, next time you look at one of our Greenbacks use it as a reminder of yet another Carlsbad Czech connection.
Read Tom's Highlights & Notes on his trip to Karlovy Vary in May, 2009: Karlovy Vary Trip letter
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Rich Paulsen.