The Color of Money / Artikel mises.org

verfasst von --- ELLI ---, 23.08.2002, 17:12

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<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#002864">http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1028</font>
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<font face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Verdana" color="#002864" size="5"><strong>The Color of Money</strong></font>
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<font size="4">by Clifford F. Thies</font>




<font size="2">[Posted August 23, 2002]</font>




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<font size="2">The U.S. Treasury notes of 1928 launched the general design
that most people in the world immediately recognize as U.S. paper money (prior
to the Federal Reserve’s recent introduction of BIG FACE money).</font>




<font size="2">In the 1928 series, the legal tender quality of the money
was printed over the seal, and the right of convertibility was printed under
the portrait.</font>


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<font size="2">One thing I like about the"fine print" of the
gold certificates and the first two of the silver certificates is that they
promise the bearer One Hundred Dollars In Gold Coin, or One Silver Dollar.&nbsp;&nbsp;It
is therefore clear that the purpose of this paper money was merely to reduce
the cost of using gold or silver coins in transactions, not to increase the
money supply.</font>




<font size="2">In contrast, the $1 silver certificate of 1957 promises the
bearer only One Dollar In Silver.&nbsp;When the government announced that it
would stop paying out silver on these certificates, and many people queued up
to get their silver, many of them were given, not silver dollars, but little
bags of silver dust.</font>




<font size="2">Back in the days when (full-bodied) gold and silver coins
circulated freely, bankers, merchants, and government officials were concerned
with the"wear and tear" on coins in circulation, and the risk and
cost of transporting coins over distances.</font>




<font size="2">Gold coins, even when gold was used in alloy form with a
small amount of silver, were quite susceptible to wear and tear.&nbsp;Silver
coins, excepting for the purpose of making change, were inconvenient because
of their weight.&nbsp;Except during times of bank panic, the public was very
happy to use private-bank-issued notes (just as today, the public is very
happy to use checking accounts, credit and debit cards, and electronic money).</font>




<font size="2">The problem with bank-issued paper money back in the old
days, or with government-issued paper money nowadays, is only to a small
extent counterfeiting; that is, people outside the bank printing more
and more money.&nbsp;To a much larger extent, the problem with paper money
always has been the people inside the bank, whether a private bank or a
central bank, printing more and more money.</font>




<font size="2">The real issue is not the <em>color</em> on the back of the
money, but money’s <em>real backing</em>.</font>


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<font size="2">Clifford F. Thies is a professor of economics and finance at
Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. Send him&nbsp;MAIL.
See also his Mises.org&nbsp;Articles
Archive.


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gesamter Thread:

• The Color of Money / Artikel mises.org - --- ELLI ---, 23.08.2002, 17:12
  • Wer jetzt noch nicht kapiert hat, dass Geld = Steuer, dem ist nicht zu helfen - dottore, 23.08.2002, 21:18