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De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Monday, October 27, 2014

The Many Roads to Currency Ruination

Frank O. Trotter, Executive Vice President – EverBank

Total abject failure. Mad Max. Breakdown of society. Chaos.  How’s that for an upbeat start? Failure is a tough thing to talk about, particularly here in the US where it’s all about optimism. What’s the best? Who's the fastest? Where should I put my money for the highest return? But examining failures can help us avoid mistakes. So let’s take a tour of a few currencies and money systems that fell apart. We’ll learn some principles of sound money and hopefully, have a little fun.

What Is Money?  Even though we don’t think about it every day, we all know that money is a fiction. It is a medium of exchange – a token we pass back and forth instead of bartering, and a store of value that keeps score of our assets and debts. It is based on belief and faith—nothing more. At times, money has been metals or tobacco or wampum. There are the famous Yap Island stones. At other times, like today, paper tokens with no intrinsic value stand in as money…......To Read More.....

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