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There is a really good BBC article on why every civilization picks gold as its currency: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25255957 http://www.bbc.com/news/magaz

• randomname2 11y ago
  In a 2014 talk at the Council of Foreign Relations, Alan Greenspan said: “Gold is a currency. It is still, by all evidence, a premier currency. No fiat currency, including the dollar, can match it.” http://www.cfr.org/financial-crises/alan-greenspan-central-banks-stagnation-gold/p35762 http://www.cfr.org/financial-crises/alan-greenspan-central-b...
• thaumasiotes 11y ago
  Vikings picked silver. China picked silver. Sparta picked iron. (Granted, that was kind of a special circumstance. But at times China used iron too. On the other hand, China never used monetary gold.) As described, there can't be a good article on "why every civilization picks gold as its currency" because the premise is false. The article acknowledges this as to silver, though not as to iron. On the other hand, the somewhat bizarre premise that currency has to be one or another chemical element goes unquestioned. Historically it was common to use grain as a currency. Even among metals, we know electrum coins have been used to great success.