I recall reading somewhere (maybe Armstrong?) about Spanish inflation under a gold standard. Seems that when ships laden with gold starting returning from the New World that the lucky "investors" in those ventures (after kicking back a share to the Crown) began bidding up the price of things with all their new gold, and a nasty bout of inflation ensued. Gold works when the amount is more or less proportionate to the size of your economy, and growth in the economy is slow, but how do you manage a gold standard when either new gold appears out of nowhere, or growth of the economy exceeds the rate of new discovery, which I guess would describe that last 100 years or so? Something to ponder while soaking in the tub...LOL!

ebear