Detailed Information About The Gold Standard Exchange Rate System
The Gold Standard (1876 — 1913): The Gold Standard Exchange Rate System is defined as the system of setting currency values whereby the participating countries commit to fix the prices of their domestic currencies in terms of a specified amount of gold. The gold standard as an international monetary system gained acceptance in Western Europe in the 1870s. The United States was something of a latecomer to the system, not officially adopting the standard until 1879. The rules of the game under the Gold Standard Exchange Rate System were clear and simple. Each country set the rate at which its currency (paper or coin) could be converted to a weight of gold. The United States, for example, declared the dollar to be convertible to gold at a rate of $20.67/ounce of gold (a rate in effect until the beginning of World War 1). The British pound was pegged at £4.2474/ounce Continue reading