While this is an excellent point and one I hadn't heard before, I'm not so sure you're properly modeling the cost of maintaining other currencies. Must we inclu

While this is an excellent point and one I hadn't heard before, I'm not so sure you're properly modeling the cost of maintaining other currencies. Must we include the Fed? The enormous physical system that securely moves money all the way from the mint to every single cash register? The opportunity cost of the time of all of the smart people who work on international currency arbitrage, but would otherwise be doctors and scientists? Since paper money is backed ultimately by the threat of violence against those who counterfeit it, wherever they may be in the world, we must include some fraction of our defense spending as well. In fact, the more valuable the currency, the more must be spent on defense to protect it. Isn't this closely isomorphic to your dichotomy?