Monetary system

A monetary system is the set of institutions by which a government provides money in a country's economy. Modern monetary systems usually consist of mints, central banks and commercial banks.

Commodity money system

A commodity money system is a monetary system in which a commodity such as gold is made the unit of value and physically used as money. The money retains its value because of its physical properties. In some cases, a government may stamp a metal coin with a face, value or mark that indicates its weight or asserts its purity, but the value remains the same even if the coin is melted down.

Commodity-backed money

One step away from commodity money is "commodity-backed money", also known as "representative money". Many currencies have consisted of bank-issued notes which have no inherent physical value, but which may be exchanged for a precious metal, such as gold. (This is known as the gold standard.) The silver standard was widespread after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, and lasted until 1935, when it was abandoned by China and Hong Kong.