This is probably a question for old timers. It is one I have wondered about for a long time. About 60 years ago, when I was a kid and silver dollars were still occasionally encountered in everyday transactions, I mentioned to a visiting uncle that I like getting silver dollars and he said “I can get you all you want the next time I go to the race track. They use them there instead of one dollar bills.” He never did get me any, but I have wondered ever since why they used silver dollars at the race track. Does anyone know?
I’d be curious to know where your uncle lived.
I’ll wager that they had slots at the track, and he could get them that way.
As a side note, I think $2 bills were a staple at racetracks, because you bet $2. Easier than counting.
This was in Massachusetts. And I’ve often asked myself whether I misremembered and that he had in fact said $2 bills, but I don’t think so because Massachusetts was one of the few places at that time where $2 were not that unusual.