Gold Standard, Silver Standard, or Bimetallism ??

[socialize_me]

Does anyone have insight into this as to which one is better, or the weaknesses of having either or? Are there any Mises Institute articles/videos on this subject (particularly on silver standard/bimetallism as I'm currently studying the gold standard) and the pros and cons of either system? Greatly appreciated :cool:

[Shotdown1027]

While gold is generally considered the best currency by Austrians, they mostly recommend a "no-standard". That is, that no currency should have government backing and the frede market should determine which currency is dominant.

[Elwar]

While I'm not into bimetallism, I do not judge those who are.

[DocGrimes]

I think the best would be what we freely choose to use. Many would choose varying mediums based upon what works best for their situations. As trades/trading progressed some mediums would likely become more dominant but wither it be ducks, beans, gold, or rocks a freely operating (especially with parallel monies) system would be best.

[Scribbler de Stebbing]

Just as businesses now accept, variously, fiat dollars, bank checks, visa, mastercard, discover, AmEx, or just a couple of those, so could businesses accept payment in gold or silver, with some choosing not to take zinc.

I see these commodities set up in accounts similar to Visa -- in fact Visa itself could do this -- so commerce would be little different than it is today. These electronic precious metal debit card companies would operate on their reputation, and if any were found to be playing fractional reserve, they'd lose customers.

[socialize_me]

Any Mises.org literature on this??

[BarryDonegan]

Does anyone have insight into this as to which one is better, or the weaknesses of having either or? Are there any Mises Institute articles/videos on this subject (particularly on silver standard/bimetallism as I'm currently studying the gold standard) and the pros and cons of either system? Greatly appreciated :cool:

mises, i believe, is pro competing currencies, which is, to quote lame republican rhetoric, the all-of-the-above currency solution.

[Xenophage]

Let anyone coin or print their own money and back it however the hell they want. Let people and businesses choose which currencies they accept and which they don't. If anyone commits fraud or counterfeiting, throw em in jail. At the same time, the government can issue a gold-backed currency, without forcing people to use it.

Bimetallism runs into some serious problems, though. I recommend reading up on the history of the silver vs. gold debates in the 19th century. I'm a gold bug, myself.

Interestingly, William Jennings Bryan's "cross of gold" speech is often quoted out of context as some sort of rant favoring fiat currency, when that wasn't that case at all. He was an advocate of bimetallism, and wanted silver currency.

[nate895]

The only thing government should do is set the standard weights and measures. I'd bet a system where gold is the primary currency, but silver is used in smaller transactions, would develop.

[mello]

What about other precious metals like platinum?

[socialize_me]

What about other precious metals like platinum?

Platinum has only been of value in recent centuries. In fact, the Spanish when arriving in the New World were annoyed by Platinum as it confused them to think it was silver. They simply discarded it. I believe the 16th or 17th century was when Platinum was actually worth anything to people.

Besides, platinum is very scarce and rare. There's only a handful of platinum mines around the world with the largest being in South Africa. Having a platinum standard would be tough.

[Imperial]

I prefer a policy of resumption to the gold standard to transition first, and then the legalization of any competing currencies. That way, people can readjust to sound money first and the concept of money actually having value like any commodity. In addition, it allows a scalpel transition back to what we should have had in the beginning.