British Pound of Sterlings

Ever since the Bretton Woods agreement in 1944, the U.S dollar became the world’s currency. Bretton Woods agreement was basically an agreement on which every country currency would be back up by the dollar, due to the fact that after WWII United States was the only one with the biggest gold reserve in the world. Although it was proposed as a good idea it had its flaws for one even though it help the U.S and other countries there was simply not enough gold to continue backing up the dollar value. Which lead to President Richard Nixon to abolish the gold standard economy. His abolish of a gold standard economy lead to a new proposal on which the dollar would be back by.

The penny, also known simply as the one-cent coin, was first made about 230 years ago in 1787. The first penny ever made was 100% copper and it was heavier and larger than the usual penny today. The design itself was suggested by the famous Benjamin Franklin ("A Brief History of the U.S. Cent”). Lately, people have talked about the idea of abolishing the penny, but others disagree. The penny should not be abolished.

The central pillar of the British economy during its colonial period was its extensive trading power. Any threat to this power would have to be remedied sooner than later. For this exact reason the Currency Act of 1764 was birthed. In spirit the Currency Act of 1764 was intended for the betterment of British commerce. However, in actuality the Currency Act of 1764 had a negative impact on the lives of British colonial residents.

It was one of the earliest monetary policies to institute the circulation of paper money on a national level. Customers would deposit their gold coins for storage into a bank for a small fee. In return, they received bank receipts, which were then used as paper money in place of valuable elements like gold. The idea of using bank notes as paper money quickly gained popularity because they were, of course, much easier and more convenient to transport and exchange than heavy gold coins.

After World War II, the Bretton Woods Agreement established the gold standard and two support institutions called the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. This would lead to a shift, away from the gold standard, to more relaxed systems. The idea of currency purely backed by gold was slowly being shifted to a trust based currency. These institutions purpose was to regulate the economies by injecting or taking money in a process called sterilization. Sterilization is to protect certain countries from a going bankrupt. If a country goes bankrupt, it chain a chain reaction of bankruptcies. So, in order to maintain balance, currencies need to be stable enough, so that it can be in debt without having to declare bankruptcy. The idea is

A law has passed in 1764 known as the Currency Act to resolve the currency scarcity and lack of proper economic structure. It is design to illegalize any new model dollars, not even reprint already used money. Additionally, it simply demolishes the colonial cash by having a more “hard currency” network using pound sterling. A huge repercussion occur, when there is a massive trade deficit and it only made the overall economy much more dire. This policy not only damages the merchant, but it also did not financial help the British troop to get the economic resources they need.

In 1764 The Currency Act was passed. The act banned the use of paper money in all colonies. In passing this, the British government was attempting to stop inflation and create uniform currency. This Act made paper money worthless. The British government didn't give the colonies enough time to exchange their money and it’s lack of process created chaos and inconsistency. Britain should have given the colonies more time to trade their money since it was Britain's idea to make such a tremendous adjustment to their system (Martin, The Events That Led to the American Revolution).

Nixon raised the price of gold during his presidency. This angered nations all who had signed the Bretton Woods Agreement (see Definition page) after World War II. As the world’s reserve currency, the US dollar had an additional problem. As global trade grew, so too did the demand for U.S. dollar reserves. For a time, the demand for US dollars was satisfied by an increasing

In 1974 the decline of the west was already predictable and U.S president Nixon made a deal with Saudi Arabia. In return for buying oil in dollars, the U.S would guarantee military security and the petrodollar was born. This guaranteed a steady supply of income for the U.S, as the Federal Reserve is a conglomeration of private companies taking a percentage of every dollar used. Rivero’s fascinating insight into the how the dollar plays a key role in U.S foreign policy explains the reasons behind many U.S actions today.

People shaved some off the sides of the coins to later melt the clippings down for other coins. You would not make a profit all at once, but after a while of clipping, you would be able to make your own coins(Why do some US coins In Have Ridges)

The fixed exchange rate regime of 1945-1973 failed because of widely diverging national monetary and fiscal policies, differential rates of inflation, and various unexpected external shocks. The U.S. dollar was the main reserve currency held by central banks was the key to the web of exchange rate values. The United States ran persistent and growing deficits in its balance of payments requiring a

At the end of World War Two, the Bretton Woods system was established for world currencies. This system involved countries fixing their currencies to the US Dollar, which in turn was tied to the value of gold at a fixed exchange rate of $35 per ounce. As this was a fixed exchange rate system it effectively forced countries to pursue a certain monetary policy, in order to keep their currency pegged to the Dollar and in turn the value of gold.

1. Early currency issues in America-In 1690, early Americans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were the first to issue paper money in the colonies to meet the high demand for trade,also a response to the shortage of coins, which were primarily used as money at the time.

This view is in contrast to Kindleberger’s stance that after WWI it was important to get the exchange rates fixed at equilibrium levels and it was the collapse of interwar gold standard that brought about the world depression.