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Lessons from the history of money

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  • Francois R. Velde

Abstract

This article looks at eight centuries of monetary history and asks: What happened and what have we learned? Money evolved from commodity-based to purely fiduciary, and in the trial-and-error process, governments learned some basic truths about price stability and the management of a sound currency.

Suggested Citation

  • Francois R. Velde, 1998. "Lessons from the history of money," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 22(Q I), pages 2-16.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhep:y:1998:i:qi:p:2-16:n:v.22no.1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Telser, L. G., 1995. "Optimal denominations for coins and currency," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 425-427, October.
    2. Friedman, Milton, 1990. "The Crime of 1873," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1159-1194, December.
    3. Sargent, Thomas J & Velde, Francois R, 1999. "The Big Problem of Small Change," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 31(2), pages 137-161, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zbyněk Revenda & Markéta Arltová, 2022. "Akcie, zlato a inflace - vztahy a souvislosti v posledních 25 letech [Stocks, Gold and Inflation - Relationships and Contexts Over the Last 25 Years]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2022(3), pages 288-311.
    2. Young Sik Kim & Manjong Lee, 2012. "Return on Commodity Money, Small Change Problems, and Fiat Money," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(2‐3), pages 533-549, March.
    3. Nikolay Nenovsky, 2009. "On Money as an Institution," ICER Working Papers 12-2009, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.

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    Keywords

    Money; Coinage;

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