In North America, the scarcity of British coins led to the widespread use of Spanish dollars. These Spanish dollars were accommodated into a £sd account system, by setting a valuation for these coins in terms of a pound unit. At one stage, two such units were in widespread use in the British North American colonies. The Halifax rating dominated, and it set the Spanish dollar equal to 5/–. As this was 6d more than its value in silver, the Halifax pound was consequently lower in value than the sterling pound. The York rating of one Spanish dollar being to eight shillings was officially used in Upper Canada until it was outlawed in 1796, but continued to be used unofficially well into the early 19th century.
