A History of Universal Currencies

In January 1999, members of the European Union introduced a single currency, the Euro. In 2002, the Euro will replace national currencies, and each country’s currency will cease to exist. It is our belief that within the next ten years the Euro will merge with the Dollar to create a single currency for the United States, Europe, and eventually for other countries. These articles explore the impact of this transition to a single international currency. This article provides a brief overview of the history of currencies, beginning with primitive monies and moving up to modern times. The article attempts to show two things. First, whenever feasible, countries and empires have introduced a single monetary standard within their political regions because the benefits of a single currency exceed the costs. Second, historically the existence of currency areas has been based more upon political than economic factors. For these two reasons, a single currency for the United States, Europe and for the rest of the world appears to be the inevitable goal toward which the world is heading.