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The History of Paper Money - VI: The Gold Standard - Extra History (Patreon)

Published:
2016-11-04 07:39:45
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

The gold standard survived for centuries. What finally brought it down? 

Files

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The History of Paper Money - VI: The Gold Standard - Extra History

Even as the use of paper money grew, ties to the gold standard remained... and remained challenging. From the First Opium War to the Great Depression, events around the world stretched the capacity of bullion based economics. So what - and who - finally abandoned it? Support us on Patreon! http://bit.ly/EHPatreon (--More below) Grab your Extra Credits gear at the store! http://bit.ly/ExtraStore Subscribe for new episodes every Saturday! http://bit.ly/SubToEC Play games with us on Extra Play! http://bit.ly/WatchEXP Talk to us on Twitter (@ExtraCreditz): http://bit.ly/ECTweet Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/ECFBPage Get our list of recommended games on Steam: http://bit.ly/ECCurator ____________ ♪ Get the intro music here! http://bit.ly/1EQA5N7 *Music by Demetori: http://bit.ly/1AaJG4H ♪ Get the outro music here! http://bit.ly/23isQfx *Music by Sean and Dean Kiner: http://bit.ly/1WdBhnm

Comments

Hasan Mahmood

First! This has been quite educational, but doesn't the existence of the Petrodollar screw with things even more?

Steve Jackson
>>2940833

I agree, I knew almost nothing about economics or actual monies before this series.

Richard Sayer

I pledged fifty and I'm not in the credits :(

Curtis Fric

This ended up being a really interesting topic to go through, you guys and gals did well :p

Timothy McLean
>>2940833

I barely know anything about it, but from what I've read it sounds like the kind of thing which would screw with all sorts of things.

David May

This is why I stayed out of economics. Thanks for explaining it so even someone like me could understand

chamillitary

I see James is using my patron money well, hope he enjoys the bath

Lucas

This series was amazing. But I can't help to feel that while accepting money for value is a valid economic practice... having ALL the value in the world being based in USD is a bit OP for a single nation. Maybe this explains allegations that what pushed the 2nd Iraq war was Saddams lobby to change OPEC's official currency to Euros. This might even explain US' current intense intelligence and proxy-war efforts to dismantle the BRICS project, since if its monetary fund marches forward there would be a big chance that over half of the world population would end up using another currency for trade. Major powers' wars are no longer fought with guns and bullets, but rather with trade agreements and monetary exchange, huh?

Robert S

A lovely conclusion to a lovely series. I learned a lot, thank you, guys!

Robert S
>>2941411

when did you pledge? They make these things a bit in advance

Robert S
>>2940833

@Timothy Mclean that's possibly the vaguest qualifier I've ever heard.

Hasan Mahmood
>>2942006

The thing the video neglects to mention, though not because of malice, is that the US Dollar is still backed by a certain commodity: Oil. Once one realizes that fact, a lot of the actions of the US in the last few decades makes sense, because if any other currencies was backed by a ready supply of Oil, the value of the Dollar goes down. Subject for another day, though.

Laurens Blei

So Nixon did something good, for once. But yeah, oil is screwimg it up.

Lucas
>>2942006

...makes sense, but maybe it's a multi-factorial web of assets? I mean, I once read a very interesting theory about the main importance of keeping the world's only true blue navy: safeguarding the dollar. Perhaps military might is more important, and oil is the commodity most related to it? I'm curious to Jame's, Soraya's and Dan's opinion on this. Nonetheless, I can't help to wonder what the impact magnitude of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa using the same currency in the Geopolitical landscape.

Michael Jebbett

And yet the recession almost made people start hoarding gold outta fear that the dollar would be rendered worthless, and that fear still remains in some form or another. In fact, if worse came to worse and the US fell apart (or at least its economy did), we could easily see a return to the gold standard. It's almost how in the Fallout series how soda bottle caps became the new currency when the nuclear war rendered the US dollar void because, well, the US was mostly a radioactive wasteland now.

Martin Verran

0:26 Or, to Translate that Quote into the Immortal Words of the Owls I occasionally look after at my Place of Work: "Kraaaaak!!!" 🙂 U.S. $10 is about U.K. £7.99 at the Moment over here. Our Economy is a little hectic currently in the aftermath of the Brexit Vote but hopefully should stabilise soon.

Wesley Wu

I spent the whole video waiting for the point where we finally kicked the gold standard. WW1? Nope Great Depression? Nope WW2? Nope 1965? Nope 1971? Finally, yes.

ExtraCredits
>>2941411

Richard pledged quite a long time ago, and I thought I had fixed this for you last month! My apologies, Richard. Let me fix it for next week ASAP and I'll send you a private message as well. EDIT: Richard, I was actually just looking at another donor's name. Your pledge is recent and this episode went to post-production before we received it. I am sorry for the delay, though! I'm still going to send you a PM so we can chatter and we will absolutely make sure you're in next week's sponsor list. :)

ExtraCredits
>>2941590

I'm really glad you liked it! I know James worked pretty hard to try and make this a good introduction to the subject.

ExtraCredits
>>2941569

D'aww, thank you! Always flattering when a topic as obscure as "paper money" gets some love.

ExtraCredits
>>2943935

I would try to establish a currency based on my dogs' fur. I have so much of it; I would be rich.

ExtraCredits
>>2940833

Our money does seem to be evolving in curious ways, and whether or not the petrodollar will stand up as a "gold standard" style backing to currency, I guess we'll see, though to date it's certainly done a lot to keep the dollar strong in global markets. After watching this series (about which I admit I knew nothing before James started sending us the scripts), I sort of expect to keep watching the nature of what we consider money change as we get a grip on the new economic systems that we've introduced fairly recently.

ExtraCredits
>>2942006

I was traveling while James was writing this one and didn't get to do my usual shadow-research on the subject, so I feel far out of my depth when attempting to comment on these specific questions. :( You two appear to know a lot about it, though! Don't let me interrupt. -Soraya

Stephen Telford

I do think you missed a potential note for 'future history' around bitcoin and it's friends, since, in essence - it's where the floating currencies will probably end up. Either way, awesome series. Money well spent :)

Martin Verran
>>2946903

Just as it should have been Right from the start, much to the disgust of the Far-Right Elements in the Press. Who on Earth do the Brexiteers think they are, denying Parliament their Constitutional Right to have their Opinion Heard? If my Owls were running the Country this whole palaver would be over and done with by now.

Cifer
>>2946903

As the Times caricature says: "The British people want British Parliamentary sovereignty and British law applied by British judges in British courts! But, you know, not yet..."

Porcupine
>>2947385

Ok, this finally sheds some light for me on why pretty much any internet discussion on worldwide finances or crises invariably ends up at people at each other's throats on "gold standard this" or "gold standard that" (especially if USians are involved, which they always are). The piece of information I was missing is that it's obviously still in people's "living memory"...

Jason Youngberg
>>2948786

Good point. One could argue that with electronic banking, credit cards, direct deposit, etc that we're already there. How many of us have more than $20 cash in our wallets?

Nessf
>>2946903

... Soraya, was that an Owl joke? Because if so, well played, I see what you did there.

Nessf
>>2948786

I do - but I'm also something of an anomaly. I've had restaurants thank me for paying cash before, because so many people only do electronic these days that they don't have enough machines. One manager told me at one point that around 3/4s of his sales are straight to credit cards now.

Joe Koslowski
>>2948786

I work in a restaurant and yeah, ~85% of all transactions are on credit/debit cards, people mostly use cash for small purchases and card for larger ones. I think servers and bartenders might be some of the only people still using mostly cash, because we get paid everyday in cash instead of waiting for our paycheck at the end of the week. I've even had a manager look at me confused when I told him that ATM's now take up to 30 bills at a time because he hasn't really used cash in years.

Benjamin Christianson

What sources were consulted when putting this series together? I ask because I'm currently working on a project that would really benefit from my own research on these subjects.

Lucas
>>2942006

I honestly don't know anything solid at all. Economics and Geopolitics are neither part of my academic major or professional experience (some geopolitics might come my way in my projected professional career in the near future though :-P). Nonetheless as one of the "foreign" patrons I tend to be really curious about all the shadow researching you guys might do, specially in subjects that reverberate so strongly in current events (btw, this series broke EH's historical recency cap rule... and I loved it!). I really respect all the work you guys have been doing, please don't take this opion as criticism, but rather as feedback of how one of your viewer feels from time to time. Sometimes I feel like the whole hype over the western civilizations accomplishments (which, granted, are pretty damn awesome), sometimes obfuscate their costs. Usually, greatness is built upon the shoulders of unfortunate others, slaves, colonies, puppet states and so on. Maybe it's part of a cultural underdog complex of mine, maybe it's the only natural result of the EH team being placed in North America, perhaps both... but I would love to see some deeper criticism over how these superpowers managed to rise as much as they have, maybe tone could be a bit more sympathetic towards those who shouldered their rise. I'm not sure whether you guys go around trying to find native sources for your researches, like asking a native Chinese how he sees and specially how he feels about the Opium Wars for example. If you do: kudos! If you don't: I know it might be a hassle, but maybe it could translate into some awesome results! I would really love to hear James talk a bit about the "other side" of US controlling world currency with such a supremacy in the coming "lies" episode, for example. If you could find native south american historians or even Patrons to share their thoughts and feeling upon Bolivar, it would be so awesome too... And well, maybe its just me, maybe the other foreign patrons never ever felt that way, I rely on our collective wisdom to ponder upon that ;-)

Mask
>>2942814

How is stealing good? America offered to keep the world's gold safe, and give out notes so it could be redeemed whenever they want. They decided to take all that gold for themselves, and if the other nations wanted ti back, they could start a war.

Mask
>>2942483

I recommend continuing your learning through a couple of documentaries. EH presented a dangerously simplified and opinionated take on economics. You should start with Money as Debt as an easier one to watch, then move onto Nom Chomsky's Requiem for an American Dream. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pch8Ii966iA" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pch8Ii966iA</a>

Mask

Why are we talking about needing unlimited money? What unlimited resource can we possibly claim? There is none on Earth, even if you enslave your children for a hundred generations and give up everything they own. We have finite resources, it makes no sense to have unlimited money. Please see Nom Chomsky, that renowned professor of MIT, on his talk about the modern economy: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pch8Ii966iA" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pch8Ii966iA</a> "In the depression, there was a real expectation things would get better, a hopefulness. There isn't today." It is made to seem as if gold was the reason for the depression, blaming it for its inability to stop it. Modern banking is what caused the depression, playing financial games with people's lives and livelihoods, as they generated money which shouldn't and really didn't exist. Gold cannot stop that, as gold does not multiply when you multiply your currency. You can be as flexible as you like, but if you throw yourself off a cliff, it does you no good. As for standing on the US dollar, we have seen the results of that today, and are still seeing them. Nixon took the world's gold, refusing them the right to redeem it the USA promised, and they were left to hope for the American currency. They tried to swap to the Euro, and we saw how that went for Greece.

Mask
>>2956499

I can recommend you a couple of good documentaries on the subject. One is by Nom Chomsky, (yes, that Nom Chomsky). The other is a more basic overview, deeper than EH's series. Money as Debt: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8</a> Requiem for the American Dream: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pch8Ii966iA" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pch8Ii966iA</a>

Timothy McLean
>>2972472

You're confusing "unlimited" with "infinite". Unlimited means there's nothing to stop the money supply from growing with the economy, not that there's an infinite amount of money.

Mask
>>2972472

I am not. Unlimited means as much as you like, no limits. Which does not match reality. You're arguing that because they weren't absurd enough to start printing bills worth, "infinities" of money, that we should ignore the absurdities I have just outlined. In fact, you have said nothing of them. Calling the creation of nonexistent wealth, "growing" the economy.