Battles for the standard: bimetallism and the spread of the gold standard in the nineteenth century

This is a history of the monetary developments in the international economy of the 19th century.

It reviews the monetary developments in the core economies of the period: Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and also India.

Particular attention is given to the expansion of the gold standard in the context of the intense national and international debates about the role of precious metals and the author also examines the conflict between supporters of gold, silver and bimetallism, both in terms of competing financial and economic theories and in terms of the varying social and cultural backgrounds that informed them.