Why did Americans want to trade in gold and silver? British pounds were hard to come by. American dollars were devalued. Coins from all countries made exchange rates complicated. Gold and silver was easy to obtain.

Because since every country has their own currency for example our dollar is devalued by the englands pound because 1 pound to them is worth alot more then 1 dollar here so gold and silver were values the same all over the world which allowed them to trade easier