ABSTRACT
Thomas Tooke’s An Inquiry into the Currency Principle and the theory of distribution It is said that all important arguments of modern monetary theory were already discussed in the nineteenth century – with the possible caveat that the construction of concrete models was rare and the use of concepts fluctuated. Such disadvantages, however, were partly offset by the advantage of much greater clarity in presentation. The latter was owed not just to the question of academic style, but also to the fact that the empirical givens were much simpler. You could watch precious metal circulating. The wealthy man felt the weight of gold in his pocket, and everyone knew that this current asset, which was indispensable to a society based on the division of labour and the guarantor of the long-term stability of price levels, had been dearly bought. It was substituted with coins minted below value using cheaper metal, with notes, cheques, and bills of exchange. Thus, the questions emerged over what form of money constitutes the real money, what determines its value, and whether certain types of credit cause economic crises or, at least, lead to their aggravation.
