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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;PaddyB, post: 1673346, member: 40017&quot;]Ah but you miss the point - for much of history the value of the coin has been the value of the metal in it, not what was printed on it. In modern civilisation this was broadly the case - certainly for larger denomination coins - until about WW1. In the UK we came off the gold standard in 1919 I believe - up until then our gold and silver coins reflected their buying power in their weight of Precious Metal. In 1797 when we issued a twopence coin in copper, it was huge and unwieldy because it contained tuppence worth of copper.</p><p><br /></p><p>Interestingly there is a strong correlation between pure inflation (as opposed to mere market fluctuations) and the use of debased coinage. The Romans were I believe the first to experience galloping inflation, largely as a result of the issuing of highly debased billon coinage.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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