Gold Standard

The gold standard is a monetary system where a country's currency value is directly linked to a fixed quantity of gold. This system ensures that paper money can be exchanged for gold at a set price, aiming to provide stability and predictable exchange rates between nations. It was a dominant international monetary system for significant periods, notably from the 1870s to 1914 and again under the Bretton Woods system after World War II, until its final abandonment in 1971.