The Rise and Fall of the Gold Standard

For centuries, gold backed the worlds currencies. Britain adopted a de facto gold standard in 1717 when Isaac Newton set the gold price too low, causing silver to disappear. The classical gold standard of 1870 to 1914 saw unprecedented economic growth and stable exchange rates.

World War I shattered the system. Britain returned to gold in 1925 at the pre war parity, causing deflation and unemployment. Roosevelt abandoned the US gold standard domestically in 1933.

Nixon closed the international gold window in 1971, ending the last link between gold and money..