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There is nowhere near enough gold for it to be considered a workable currency. Silver is/was more practical. The U.S. was on a silver standard until the Nixon
by chasil 3y ago
There is nowhere near enough gold for it to be considered a workable currency.
Silver is/was more practical. The U.S. was on a silver standard until the Nixon administration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_standard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_standard
- christkv 3y agoSilver has such an interesting history as a unit of exchange. I remember reading that China started demanding payment in silver around the 1500 for goods leading to the boom in Spanish silver mining in the Americas to pay for imports. The lack of silver also lead the British to start the opium trades to get around the Chinese state.
- dmichulke 3y agoHow much gold would we need, in $ terms?
- chasil 3y agoFor a currency that we will all carry and use, more than this: "All of the gold discovered thus far would fit in a cube that is 23 meters wide on every side." https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-gold-has-been-found-world https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-gold-has-been-found-world
- 7thaccount 3y agoIs that still true in modern times with more people, but also better technologies? They make gold notes now that are 1/1000th an oz. Two of those would get you lunch. Also...if it was the main source of currency, wouldn't the value go up to where you would need very little (example - $15,000 an oz)? I'd even guess you could keep it in a form of bank and then have a debit card you could use where most items were tiny tiny fractions of an oz. Is it still too little gold at that point? I'm not suggesting a gold standard btw...just curious. I'd also point out that it might be crazy, but our current system seems incredibly risky and many nations have had their currency collapse through over supply. I don't think a perfect solution exists here.
- UncleEntity 3y agoYou do realize that people aren't required to carry around actual gold? I just counted and there are exactly 6 $1 bills in my wallet that have been in there for I don't even know how long. That being said, the main problem with silver/gold was the government pegging their value to each other causing 'issues'.
- chasil 3y agoTo carry paper certificates that are redeemable in the base metal, that metal must exist to be redeemed.
- UncleEntity 3y agoI'm not arguing for or against a specie based currency just saying technology is available to overcome the issue of 'not enough gold'.