Randy_H

The First (and Possibly Last) Euro Decade

The EUR is not a reserve currency. It may become one (though I rather doubt it), but it is not, by definition, a global reserve yet. Nor does the ECB enjoy anywhere near the seigniorage privileges of the Fed.

By the way: (a) all currencies are "fiat", even commodity backed currencies. Money is only money because you can reasonably expect everyone else to have confidence in it. From Antiquity forward, metal-backed currencies regularly lost confidence even when there existed ample reserves. (b) There was plenty of inflation under gold-based systems. In fact, the largest bubbles as a portion of the total economy occurred under gold-backed currencies of the Imperial era.

Do goldbugs actually study history, or just the cartoon version of the television version of the Cliffs notes of history?