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The

Way

It

Was

40 to 1. Hence the expression " ...

not worth a

Continental.

"

The ceiling price on turkeys was 9 cents a pound, on

milk 9 cents a gallon, on rum 63 cents a gallon.

Lodging at local taverns was frozen at 5 cents a night.

Two examples of typical wages were a maximum of 70

cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents a day for tailors.

Barbers were prohibited from charging more than 3.5

cents for a shave. Top pay for a soldier or sailor was

$8.00 a month.

Average yearly income per person (measured in

1974 dollars) was $634 in 1776. That's double the

average yearly income in some Third World countries

today. And the gross domestic product (the value of all

goods and services produced) came to $1.6 billion in

1776, a tiny drop in the bucket compared with today's

$8 trillion.

It

cost 10 cents to mail a letter, but that

was good for delivery only within a radius of 100 miles.

The fee rose to a maximum of 25 cents for a letter

going 450 miles or more.

Americans also plunged into privateering -–

operating private commerce raiders, authorized by the

Continental Congress. A group of merchants would fit

out a heavily-armed schooner, each buying one or more

shares. In keeping with the spirit of economic freedom,

a man might own half the shares or only one-fiftieth. In

addition to the shares, prize money went to owners and

crews -- a true incentive system.

For years, the privateers thrived, taking some 2,000

British vessels and a vast amount of needed goods. But

it was a high-risk business, and there was no guarantee

a privateer would return at all, much less return a profit.

Then, toward the end of the War for Independence, the

2