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The Silver Empire: How Germany Created Its First Common Currency

Online ISBN:
9780191997495
Print ISBN:
9780198894483
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

The Silver Empire: How Germany Created Its First Common Currency

Oliver Volckart
Oliver Volckart
Professor of Economic History, London School of Economics and Political Science
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Published online:
21 March 2024
Published in print:
28 March 2024
Online ISBN:
9780191997495
Print ISBN:
9780198894483
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

The book examines how the Holy Roman Empire created a common currency in the sixteenth century. It analyses the problems that gave rise to the widespread desire to introduce a common currency, showing that while trade was able to cope with the parallel circulation of many different types of coin, common people and political authorities were harmed. Authorities in particular suffered from the effects of Gresham’s Law. Debasing their own coinage was no solution: It triggered rounds of competitive debasements until all realized that a common currency was the only answer that addressed the core of the problem. The book examines the conditions that shaped the monetary policy-outlook of the members of the Empire. In following the negotiations that prepared the common currency, it shows which interest groups were formed, who pushed which agenda with which ulterior motives in mind, how alliances were forged, and how it was eventually possible to form a majority that agreed on a specific type of currency. The book analyses how this silver-based currency was introduced in 1559–66 and which rules the members of the Empire implemented to make sure that it became a success.

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