ARTIFACTS OF MONEY
COPPER154 0 -16 4 0
Potosi inflation
The Spanish discovered
silver in Potosi, Bolivia, and
caused a century of inflation
by shipping 350 tons of
the metal back to
GOLD AND SILVER FROM Europe annually.
THE NEW WORLD1970
Great inflation
In the US, inflation
accelerated quickly.
The stock market
plummeted 40% in an
18-month period.FROM 184 4
Gold Standard
The British pound was tied
to a defined equivalent
amount of gold. Other
countries adopted a
similar Gold Standard.1542–
The great
debasement
England’s Henry VIII
debased the silver penny,
making it three-quarters
copper. Inflation
increased as trust
dropped.1990 S
Digital money
The easy transfer of
funds and convenience
of electronic payments
became increasingly
popular as internet
use increased.1970 S
Credit cards
The creation of credit
cards enabled consumers
to access short-term credit
to make smaller purchases.
This resulted in the
growth of personal
debt.$
¥£
The economics of money
From the 16th century, understanding of the nature of
money became more sophisticated. Economics as a
discipline emerged, in part to help explain the inflation
caused in Europe by the large-scale importation of
silver from the newly discovered Americas. National
banks were established in the late 17th century, with
the duty of regulating the countries’ money supplies.By the early 20th century, money became separated
from its direct relationship to precious metal. The Gold
Standard collapsed altogether in the 1930s. By the
mid-20th century, new ways of trading with money
appeared such as credit cards, digital transactions,
and even forms of money such as cryptocurrencies and
financial derivatives. As a result, the amount of money
in existence and in circulation increased enormously.US_018-019_Artefacts_of_Money_2.indd 18 13/10/2016 16: