“It is that the money (dollars) in which we measure their value have lost so much value.”
Wrong way to look at it. Do you get paid the same weekly wage as when that silver was $40? Is your house worth the same as when that silver was $40? Are your stocks worth the same as when that silver was $40? The answer to each of those is “No, they all increased as more dollars went into circulation as the economy grew bigger”,
Exactly. It is because the money is worth less and less as time goes on. Based on your last sentence, you and I are saying the same thing from different angles.