by Michael Greaney

Created on: February 28, 2008

The idea of a single global currency is not only feasible in our day and age, it has been effectively implemented a number of times in the past. Any numismatist - "coin collector" - can rattle off examples of currencies that functioned as global media of exchange without batting an eye.

The Athenian "owls" (Drachma) either circulated as currency or trade items throughout the ancient world, reaching as far as India, and serving as a standard of value in the civilized (i.e., Greek) world. The Tetradrachms (Four Drachma pieces) of Alexander the Great circulated everywhere with the same design for centuries after the conquerer's brief career. The Roman Denarius was the standard and model of Europe's monetary system after the reforms of Pepin and Charlemagne until the last vestige was abolished in 1970 with England's decimalization - and even then retained the old name of "pound," derived from a Roman pound of silver, divided into 240 "pennyweights." The Spanish "Piece of Eight" (8 Reales of 12-1/2 cents) was found everywhere, and was the basis for the "quasi-decimal" system of the United States. The British Sovereign of .2354 ounces of gold served as a global currency until c. 1927, when it was largely replaced by the United States dollar.

The problem is obviously not whether a single global currency could work. It already has, to all intents and purposes. The question is whether a global currency could be managed properly, without any one country or group of countries having the power or ability to manipulate things to its or their advantage and the disadvantage of others. The Prussian National Bank, which managed to seize near-total control of the finances of the Holy Roman Empire and the Confederation of the Rhine after the decline of Austria and the establishment of the Zollverein provided Bismarck with a powerful and effective means of achieving his goal of Prussian domination of a unified Germany under the Second Reich. Bismarck's manipulation of the attempts to achieve a uniform currency throughout all the Germanies meant that Prussian militarism, instead of Bavarian federalism or Austrian imperialism would set the tone for the unification of Germany, and prepare the stage for Hitler.

A uniform global currency can be a valuable tool in countering the ill effects of globalization, just as it can be used to allow a small elite or a single country to dominate others. To ensure that a global currency works properly for the benefit of all the people in the world,

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