[Turing_Machine]

No, they actually issued gold and silver currency, which was called "money" and was used directly as a medium of exchange. Money wasn't just exchangeable for gold, it was gold (and silver).

The widespread use of paper money is actually quite a recent innovation, compared to the millennia of history for gold and silver coinage. People didn't trust paper for a long time (and still don't, when times get troubled).

The Constitution of the United States (quite a recent document, historically speaking) invariably refers to "coining" money, not printing it.

[RobertoG]

'issued gold and silver currency, which was called "money"'

If the value of the coin comes from the material, why issue coins in the first place?

[Turing_Machine]

Because it's harder to make a counterfeit coin than an counterfeit irregular lump of metal.