ABSTRACT
The precise magnitude of the stretch between the gold points deserves more scientific consideration than it has yet received.
(Keynes 1930, vol. 2:296)
The nineteenth century prior to 1873 presents remarkable properties for the history of money and exchange in Europe. Three monetary zones coexisted: England was on the gold standard (de facto, and from 1816 de jure); France was on bimetallism; and the Northern European countries were on the silver standard. These zones had their respective centres in London, Paris and Hamburg, where three key currencies were freely exchanged: the pound sterling, the franc and the mark (or the schilling, before 1828). And finally, there was in each of these zones, side by side with the circulation of specie, a circulation of banknotes convertible into specie; exceptional (though persistent) circumstances even led to the inconvertibility of Bank of England banknotes.
