> to the early Middle Ages and beyond, a state, or king, set the purity of coin, the penalty for clipping People trusted gold at least as much as their king th

> to the early Middle Ages and beyond, a state, or king, set the purity of coin, the penalty for clipping People trusted gold at least as much as their king though, even if the roman emperor or king tried hard to push his coin. The Florin was very popular in europe but florence was a small territory. Taxes were often paid via barter. Silver and gold were not made by any government / even aluminum was once more precious than gold. You can have all of those, because people understand the value of monetary tokens as mediums of exchange, and money doesn't have to be universal. It's only in very recent decades that people have lost all control and voice about their money. With increased coordination, regulation and data exchange between central banks around the world, having choice is what cryptocurrencies bring back.