In 1700s, the deer skin was a common medium of exchange between the trading settlers and the native Red Indians in America. This is how a buck became a slang for a dollar.
Why a Dollar Is Called a Buck: Deerskin Trade History
Long before ATMs and credit cards, American frontier settlers had a different currency problem: no actual currency. In the 1700s, coins were scarce in remote trading posts, so people got creative. The solution? Buckskins—tanned deer hides that became one of the most reliable forms of money on the frontier.
Deerskins were perfect for trade. They were durable, portable, and everyone wanted them. Settlers traded buckskins with Native Americans for goods, and the hides could be shipped back East or to Europe where they had real market value. Before long, people started measuring wealth not in dollars (which wouldn't exist until 1792), but in how many buckskins they owned.
The First "Buck" on Record
The earliest written reference comes from 1748—44 years before the first U.S. dollar was minted. Conrad Weiser, a Pennsylvania Dutch interpreter and diplomat, noted in his journal that a cask of whiskey was worth "5 Bucks" in trade with Native Americans. He wasn't talking about male deer; he meant five deerskins.
This wasn't just Weiser's quirk. On the Pennsylvania frontier, a day's labor might be paid in buckskins. Your family's wealth could be measured in buckskins. The term was already ingrained in frontier commerce.
Not All Bucks Were Equal
Here's where it gets interesting: one deerskin didn't always equal one "buck." Quality mattered enormously.
- Winter pelts were thicker and more valuable—one could count as a full buck
- Summer deer hides were thinner and less desirable
- It might take several summer pelts to equal one winter "buck"
- Size, age of the deer, and tanning quality all affected value
Think of it like cryptocurrency fluctuations, but with dead deer.
From Deerskin to Dollars
When the United States officially adopted the dollar in 1792, "buck" was already part of American trading vocabulary. The transition was natural: people simply transferred the familiar slang from deerskins to the new paper currency. By the early 1800s, "buck" was widespread slang for one dollar.
The term survived because it was catchy, informal, and distinctly American—a linguistic souvenir from the frontier days when a good deer hide could buy you whiskey, tools, or passage on a riverboat.
The Sawbuck Alternative
Not everyone agrees on this origin story. An alternative theory suggests "buck" comes from "sawbuck," slang for a $10 bill. Early ten-dollar notes featured the Roman numeral X, which resembles a sawbuck (the X-shaped frame used for holding wood while cutting). Some argue "buck" was shortened from this.
However, the deerskin theory has better historical evidence, particularly that 1748 journal entry that predates U.S. currency itself. Most etymologists favor the buckskin explanation, though the true origin—like many slang terms—may be a blend of influences.
Either way, next time you hear someone say "twenty bucks," remember: you're speaking the language of frontier traders who once carried deer hides instead of wallets.