The following is the first in a series of articles exploring the history and effects of paper money.
Thomas Paine is well known as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States as well as an author and pamphleteer. In January 1776 Mr. Paine published Common Sense, the pro-independence monograph he anonymously published shortly after his immigration to America in 1774.
In 1786 Thomas Paine wrote about the effects of paper money in comparison to Gold and Silver Coin as Tender in Payment of debts.1 He wrote:
Man has no share in making gold or silver; all that his labors and ingenuity can accomplish is, to collect it from the mine, refine it for use and give it an impression, or stamp it into coin.
Its being stamped into coin adds considerably to its convenience but nothing to its value. It has then no more value than it had before. Its value is not in the impression but in itself. Take away the impression and still the same value remains. Alter it as you will, or expose it to any misfortune that can happen, still the value is not diminished. It has a capacity to resist the accidents that destroy other things. It has, therefore, all the requisite qualities that money can have, and is a fit material to make money of — and nothing which has not all those properties can be fit for the purpose of money.
Continue reading Thomas Paine and Paper Money »»
- Paine, Thomas. “Thomas Paine on Paper Money”. 24 Apr 2008. Ludwig von Mises Institute. 21 Nov 2009.↩
Recent Comments