The pound was the currency of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 until 1793. Initially, the British pound and some foreign currencies circulated, supplemented by local paper money from 1709. Although these were denominated in pounds, shilling

Shilling

The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...

s and pence

Penny

A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...

, they were worth less than sterling, with 1 New York shilling = 8 pence sterling.

The State of New York issued Continental currency denominated in £sd and Spanish dollar

Spanish dollar

The Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...

s, with 1 dollar = 8 shillings. This valuation of the Spanish dollar was known as the York rating

York rating

The York rating was a valuation of the Spanish dollar in the £sd accounting system. It set the dollar equal to 8 shillings . The rating was named after the colony of New York where it was adopted . It was also used in Upper Canada by United Empire Loyalists following the American War of...

. The continental currency was replaced by the U.S. dollar at a rate of 1000 continental dollars = 1 U.S. dollar.