[13105] in Cypherpunks
Re: The Value of Money
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (joshua geller)
Thu May 5 08:46:03 1994
From: joshua geller <joshua@cae.retix.com>
Date: Thu, 5 May 1994 05:41:02 -0700
To: blancw@microsoft.com, sandfort@crl.com
Cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
> The idea is to create a unit of currency whose value is convenient for
> typical transactions. Some amount that is easily grasped by the average
> person. Originally the US dollar was 1/20th of an ounce of gold. That
> amount of gold, today, has the buying power of US$18, or so. A bag of
> groceries more or less. The amount of gold determines the total value of
> the money supply, but the number of people and transactions in which it
> must take part determines the number and denomination of bills and coins
> to be printed and minted.
in 1875 you could get a colt .45 for a $20 gold piece. you still can.
I am sort of confused by all these folks talking about precious metals
as if they still have something directly to do with currency. I thought
they hadn't for some decades.
josh
