The History of the Gold Standard: 25 Great Web Sites to Research Its Rise and Fall

As the price of gold remains solidly above $900 an ounce (it even topped $1,000 not too long ago), more people are asking this question: Whatever happened to the gold standard? Others are more concerned about the fact that we don’t actually have something physical to back up our currency. And why did we move away from using gold to guarantee our money anyway? These are daunting questions without easy answers. But if you’re interested, here are 25 places — in no particular order — that you can go to find out a little more about the rise and fall of the gold standard.

History of the Gold Standard

Precious metal-based currency systems have been around for literally thousands of years. Here are some good sites to research the history, rise and fall of the gold standard.

1. Wikipedia entry: “Gold standard.” This is actually a pretty thorough look at the history of the gold standard. A concise definition of what a gold standard is precedes an easy to follow look at the international gold standard, its peak, theories behind the gold standard, and the advantages and disadvantages of using a gold standard.
2. Federal Reserve Bulletin: “The International Gold Standard and U.S. monetary policy from World War I to the New Deal.” I found this via Find Articles and the BNET Business Network. This article from the June 1989 Federal Reserve Bulletin. It is an exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting) look at the rise and fall of the international gold standard and policy in the U.S.
3. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics: “Gold Standard.” This is a fairly straightforward and, well, concise history of the gold standard, and how it worked. It also details the different incarnations of the gold standard, which persisted in some form until 1971.
4. EH.net: “Gold Standard.” If you are looking for a very detailed look at the gold standard and its history, this is it. Written by Lawrence H. Officer at the University of Illinois at Chicago, this is an extremely technical and in-depth look at the gold standard. It even includes tables.
5. World Gold Council: The Rise of the Gold Standard, 1660 – 1819. A fascinating look at the importance of gold in the British monetary system between 1660 and 1819. PDF documents back up the timeline, making it even more interesting.
6. Investopedia entry: “The Gold Standard Revisited.” Investopedia is one of my favorite places to learn about money-related items. The Investopedia entry starts us back 5,000 years ago, when gold was first use as currency. It follows history’s love of the shiny metal all the way to its height, and then chronicles how gold lost its luster as the exchange medium of choice.
7. Encyclopedia.com: “Gold Standard.” An overview of the different points in time in which a gold standard prevailed. It also includes information on the Coinage Act of 1873, confirming a gold-based currency in the U.S.
8. History Central: “Gold Standard Act – March 14, 1900.” The Coinage Act wasn’t the definitive word on gold. Learn about the effort to fix the exchange rate of gold to the U.S. dollar.
9. U.S. Treasury: “Chronology of Events, 1900 – 2003.” I was actually rather disappointed that the U.S. Treasury site did not have a great deal of information on the gold standard. But this timeline allows you to see what else was happening in the world during 1900 and 1933, times when the Treasury was involved with the gold standard. Also of interest, 1965 when silver coins were removed from circulation, and 1971, when Nixon devalued the dollar and essentially announced the end of any semblance of a currency back by gold.
10. Vassar: “The Gold Standard, Bimetallism or ‘Free Silver’?” This is a site devoted mostly to silver. But it offers a great look at a bi-metal currency system as well as a look at the gold standard.
11. Wikipedia entry: “Fiat Money.” Fiat money is important because the fall of the gold standard is entwined with the concept of fiat money.

Arguments in Favor of a Gold Standard

Not everyone who believes that currencies should be backed by gold is a “crazy”. Check out some of these well-written arguments in favor of a gold standard.

12. Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis: “Why does fiat money seemingly work?” This is an interesting look at our current system of fiat money, and how it works. A very in-depth history of the use of fiat money in Ancient Rome. This piece is skewed in favor of adopting a gold standard.
13. Gold-Eagle.com: “The Dollar Crisis.” This treatise by Robert Blumen includes a background on the gold standard touts the superiority of a system of exchange based on gold. It also includes and interesting look at the correlation between the abandonment of the gold standard and inflation.
14. Ludwig von Mises Institute: “Gold or the Fed.” A look at what the gold standard entails, as opposed to the Federal Reserve and fiat money.
15. Contrarian Profits: “The Demise of the Dollar.” This is a three-part look at the fall of the gold standard and the new emphasis on a fiat currency. Part 2 and Part 3 are also interesting and continue the narrative.
16. Christian Science Monitor: “Forget Bretton Woods II – we need a gold standard. A background of the gold standard and the dollar, and the related effects of inflation and credit gone amok.
17. The Freeman: “How to Return to the Gold Standard.” A look at how it could be practicable to return the U.S. to a gold standard.
18. Light Party: “Return To The Gold Standard.” Contention is that Nixon’s decision to devalue the dollar and end all pretense at a gold standard has resulted in rampant inflation and other problems.

Arguments Against a Gold Standard

Of course, as many arguments as there are for a gold standard, there as just as many against it.

19. University of Iowa: “What is the Gold Standard?” This entry from the University of Iowa Center for International Finance and Development offers a succinct overview of the gold standard and its theory. This entry refutes the idea that a gold standard is a good one.
20. About.com: “How Would a Return to the Gold Standard Affect the U.S. Economy?” One of the things I liked about this entry was that, in addition to balancing the advantages and disadvantages of the gold standard, it also looked at the practicality of returning to the gold standard in today’s economy.
21. New York Times: “Doubts About The Gold Standard.” I loved this. Go to this site to download a PDF of a story written in 1899 expressing doubt about the Coinage Act of 1873 and the gold standard.
22. Daily Reckoning: “A History of the Gold Standard.” An interesting look at attaching paper currency to gold, and also a look at some of the myths that have been perpetuated about a gold standard. Also included: A hypothetical look at what could happen if the gold standard were re-introduced today.
23. Econbrowser: “The gold standard and the Great Depression.” This is a piece that asserts that the Great Depression was caused by and lengthened, in part, by adherence to the gold standard. It also offers some references for additional reading on the subject.
24. Marketplace: “Gold standard won’t make things better. American Public Media ran a story countering Ron Paul’s assertion that a gold standard would help fix the economy. A look at why a gold standard isn’t practical in this economy.
25. NPR: “Is The World Ready for A New Bretton Woods?” A look at how Bretton Woods attempted to create an international exchange system of fiat currency, pegged to the dollar. Of course, the dollar was supposed to be supported by U.S. gold reserves. An interesting hybrid system.

Bonus: A great debate about the gold standard on Opposing Views.

Are you enjoying Bankling? Please subscribe to our RSS feed and follow us on Twitter.