The Gold Standard

That was then. Now we use fiat money or non-commodity money which is just another way of saying, money not backed by gold or any other commodity. So the big question is, how is our money valued?

* Paper money issued as a promise for hard specie such as gold and silver

domestic taxes and trade fees be paid in silver. As a result of this the whole world was affected

Currency became a political battle, causing controversy surrounding the issues of "free silver" and "sound money," parties argued coinage of silver or the gold standard (Divine). Republicans were criticized for their policy of restricting currency, after Lincolns issue of the “Greenbacks.” The issue for the nation’s first paper money helped fund the war but caused inflation. Mining was a gateway to vast silver, increasing Americas supply. To silver democrats, the silver was “16 to 1” and helped moderately to the currency problem of the 19th century. The “free silver” movement allowed unlimited coinage advocacy and allowed reformers to unite. Republicans and “Gold” Democrats were horrified to hear about the advocacy of “free silver,” they felt it would cheapen and devalue currency. “Free Silver”

Silver was used for exchanging in goods (Documents 2, 4, 7 and 8), caused corruption

economies. The reason for this is because those of a higher status used silver unwisely and were greedy.

currency, shops gave a bill that was to be paid with more silver that was obtained from a

taxes and trade fees be paid in silver. During the mid-sixteenth century to the early

Ever since 1690, when the first paper money was issued by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, paper money has been constantly changing. Throughout the history of the United States paper money, the United States has gone through different types of currency. The different types of currency ranged from State Bank Notes to Gold Certificates to National Bank Notes to Silver Certificates to Federal Reserve Bank Notes, and now ending with Federal Reserve Notes. However, in the mean time counterfeit money had been gaining circulation and “thirty-six percent of the dollar value of known counterfeit currency passed in the U.S. was produced overseas, particularly in Colombia, Italy, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Bangkok” (Fun Facts About Money). In

Gold was an unknown to many across America and around the world. On January 24th, 1848,

When storekeeper, James Marshall, found gold at John A. Sutter’s Sutter Mill on January 24, 1848. He discovered that the rivers were filled with gold and tried to keep the secret to himself. People soon grew suspicious of the man so they took a trip to the sawmill. The men who when to the sawmill came back with gold dust. Once they heard that someone had found gold anyone was desperate for gold. From that point on the race for gold was on.

The news of the gold being found spread very quickly. When people began to look for more gold, they found gold in a lot

The primitive monetary instruments had a profoundly dynamic assistant nature, had no inborn quality. Their operation did not suggest the utilization of any particular item, but rather just the reference to a theoretical money related unit. Regardless of the possibility that the unique money related unit were symbolized by a given particular stock, this stock never took an interest in the operations, since what was implied was to make a conceptual reference to its worth, and not to trade different merchandise for it. Hence, currency was not, subsequently, created by a flash of brilliance, but rather originated from a need, and its development has reflected, at every time, the readiness of man to orchestrate its currency features to the reality of its economy. Perhaps even more importantly, invention of currency was the mother step in a new monetary system that has led to the birth of electronic banking and credit cards. To infer, pretty much as human advancement from viciousness to development has relied on upon the invention of currency, future advancement will rely on another definition and utilization of

Trading goods in exchange for different goods within the local area and across borders were routine in early ages. It was not until roughly 600 B.C. that the first currency was minted for use. Currency hastened the consumer process, allowing a greater number of goods to trade hands quickly. As currencies were developed around the globe, the demand for a currency-based financial system overpowered the natural process of bartering within and around the community.

Gold was used for many different things and it was valued very much during the past and even now it is valued. A common use of gold was when it had been turned into