The period of time when metals and money were "the same thing" really screwed up people's conception of both things.
You show a contemporary American a silver half dollar that had a ~$0.50 melt value in 1964, a ~$20.00 melt value today, and exactly $0.50 **face value** the entire time - and rather than be instantly enlightened about the concept of money, they just ask if you caught the game last night.
The fact that the metal was the money, and it was in the shape of coins that we still use today has left permanently crossed wires and short-circuits in people's skulls.
