·
Around 700 B.C., gold was made into coins for the first time,
enhancing its usability as a monetary unit. Before this, gold had to be weighed
and checked for purity when settling trades.
·
a common practice for centuries to come was to clip these
slightly irregular coins to accumulate enough gold that could be melted down
into bullion. In 1696, the Great Recoinage in England introduced a
technology that automated the production of coins and put an end to clipping.
·
The first great gold rush came to America in the 15th
century. Subsequent gold rushes in the Americas, Australia, and South Africa
took place in the 19th century.
·
Paper
money first emerged in Europe, in the 16th century in the form of debt
instruments issued by private parties, rather than official government
currency.
·
Transition from
coins to paper money - Gradual shift from metal coins to paper banknotes backed
by gold or silver through the 1900s.
·
Adoption of gold
standard- in 1717, Sir Isaac Newton, as master of The Royal Mint,
set up a new mint ratio that dramatically reduced the amount of silver in
circulation, an act which was followed by the introduction of the new gold
Sovereign in 1816. led to the establishment of the world’s first formal gold specie standard in 1821. When England became
the first country to officially adopt a gold standard. Following Britain’s adoption
of the gold standard, several other countries began to follow and The international gold standard emerged in
1871-73 with adoption of USA and Germany subsequently.
·
The Great Depression
(1929-1941) - Due to major fall in stock price in United states, severe global
economic crisis resulting in widespread bank failures and unemployment.
·
World War I -
Suspension of the gold standard and shift to fiat currencies to finance war
efforts. Gold standard was seen as a reliable way to prevent inflation. and it
was abolished in 1933.
·
World War II -
Devastation of economies and industries. Accelerated decline of the British
pound as leading currency.
·
Bretton Woods
Agreement (1944) - Established the US dollar as global reserve currency pegged
to gold until 1971. Fixed exchange rates prevailed.
·
The gold standard -
Nixon Shock (1971) - US ended the convertibility of dollars to gold which led
to floating exchange rates between currencies. Tied global currencies to gold
backing, with notes freely convertible to gold coins. Abandoned in stages,
ending completely by 1976.
·
inancial
deregulation in the 1980s - Led to increased capital flows and complex
financial instruments that accelerated globalization.
·
Breakdown of the
Soviet Union (1991) - Led to transition of former Soviet states to market
economies and participation in global trade.
·
Decimalization of
currencies - Replacement of pounds, shillings, pence with decimal currencies
like dollars and cents. Simplified math and minting.it happened around 1971.
·
Global financial
crisis (2007-2008) - Originating from US subprime mortgages, created the Great
Recession and focus on financial regulation.
·
Introduction of
polymer/plastic notes - As durable and secure alternative to paper banknotes
beginning with Australia in 1988. Adopted globally.
·
Global
hyperinflation episodes - In Germany, Hungary, Zimbabwe etc which led to
printing of extremely high denomination notes.
·
Security feature
evolution - Advancement in anti-counterfeiting tech like holograms, security
threads, watermarks, etc.
·
Financial
deregulation in the 1980s- Policy shift
towards independent central banks controlling money supply and currency values Led to increased capital flows and complex financial
instruments that accelerated globalization.
·
Breakdown
of the Soviet Union (1991) - Led to transition of former Soviet states to
market economies and participation in global trade by Currency unification/dissolution like the German mark
absorbed into Euro and breakup of the Ruble zone.
·
Euro currency
introduction (1999/2002) - Creation of the
European Union (1993) gradually established the Eurozone and new common
paper/coin notes and mintages.
·
Global financial
crisis (2007-2008) - Originating from US subprime mortgages, created the Great
Recession and focus on financial regulation.
·
Crypto currency and
digital assets- After the global depression, the first wave of crypto currency
started back in 2009 with the advent of Bitcoin. More and more digital form of
payment and transaction has been emerging like QR code payment, Biometric
wallet, Mobile wallet, Contactless payment, Digital gold, NFT and various tokenized
form of payment. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the usage and perception of
physical currency. Debates emerged about the future of physical currency if
cashless payments gain prominence in a post-pandemic world
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন