This article will look at the historical attempts to provide a single currency in the past, analyzing to what extent the currency area succeeded or failed. Only when economic, or more often political, stability faltered were alternative currencies introduced. In the past, as long as economic and political stability persisted, unified currency areas served the needs of business. Although there are economic reasons for having a universal currency, history suggests that politics, and not economics, has been the chief determinant of currency areas in the past and today. The Roman Empire, the Chinese Empire, and the British Empire all established a single currency standard for the regions over which they ruled. Whenever economic and political stability have enabled international trade to expand, attempts have been made to introduce a universal currency that meets the demands of trade.īecause of the political benefits of introducing a universal currency, a single monetary standard has usually followed the expansion of political power. There has been a continuous desire for and attempt to move toward a single currency. A History of Single CurrenciesĪ review of monetary history shows that there have been numerous attempts to introduce a single currency. For these two reasons, a single currency for the United States, Europe and for the rest of the world appears to be the inevitable goal toward which the world is heading. Second, historically the existence of currency areas has been based more upon political than economic factors. First, whenever feasible, countries and empires have introduced a single monetary standard within their political regions because the benefits of a single currency exceed the costs. This article provides a brief overview of the history of currencies, beginning with primitive monies and moving up to modern times. TheseĪrticles explore the impact of this transition to a single international currency. It is our belief that within the next ten years the Euro will merge with the Dollar toĬreate a single currency for the United States, Europe, and eventually for other countries. In 2002, the Euro will replace national currencies, and each country’s currency willĬease to exist. In January 1999, members of the European Union introduced a single currency,
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