The British, unlike the Colonists, paid with gold coins, instead of bills, as was customary in the colonies. The American colonists used both the English, Spanish and French coins during the time they were British Colony, but when the War of Independence was about to begin, the Continental Congress financed the coming war, creating the new money American, called Continental Currency. The problem came later, when the devaluation of this currency was so great, that it became synonymous with "lack of value".