When money pointed at silver

Bimetallism, in classroom words, is a policy that coins both gold and silver as money at a posted ratio. France’s 19th-century habit sat near 15.5 ounces of silver per ounce of gold. The U.S. Coinage Act of 2 April 1792 sat at 15 to 1, then 1834 moved the gold side near 16 to 1. A ratio is arithmetic the statute chose. Market last on the two metals can drift. When market last and the mint ratio disagree, the metal that is “cheap at the mint” tends to be the one people bring in. Gresham’s law is the classroom nickname: the overvalued coin stays in the till, the undervalued one leaves. A nickname is not a trading rule we will size.

The Latin Monetary Union convention was signed 23 December 1865 by France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland (Greece joined in 1867 in the usual telling), effective 1 August 1866. Member francs (and cousins) were meant to pass at the same silver and gold weights. A union of coin weights is not a single central bank, and it is not this classroom.

Silver’s money job was older than the classical gold standard. A lot of Asia and the Americas counted in silver long after London talked gold. Skipping silver is how a U.S. or UK tape pretends it was the only map.

Human: a ratio on a statute is not a pair you trade on this desk. We will name 15.5 and 16. We will not tell you which metal “should” print higher this year.