> an IOU was as good as the thing itself. Except it isn't (for many reasons, chief among which is counterparty risk). But the banks and the merchants sure br

> an IOU was as good as the thing itself. Except it isn't (for many reasons, chief among which is counterparty risk). But the banks and the merchants sure brainwashed everyone into accepting this as a tenet of the modern economy. They event went quite a step further with fractional reserve: we all know there's only 25% of the actual stuff in the vaults, but still ... the IOUs are 1:1. Until, of course, when the "faith threshold" is reached, they aren't anymore.