Pomiędzy bimetalizmem a monometalizmem. Ekonomiczno-prawne aspekty systemu monetarnego Rzeszy Niemieckiej w drugiej połowie XIX wieku

When Germany was unified in 1871 a very important question that should be solved was how to introduce a unified monetary system. Between 1871 and 1875 the German authorities carried out a monetary reform and created the Bank of the Reich. The German law regulating the functioning of the monetary system that was then introduced was in force until the outbreak of the First World War. The mark was based on the gold standard. The period of the gold standard in the history of the German State was characterised by a strong position of the mark, which had its disadvantages, too, especially during the periods of low economic prosperity. Since the mid-1870s till the mid-1890s a discussion took place in Germany and in some other countries, it was a discussion between bimetallists and monometallists; yet, the discussion did not contribute to any serious change in the monetary policy. The attempts to accept the silver and gold standard in the international arena failed to bring an expected result as well. The gold standard was in force at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in most countries with strong economies. A partly reformed gold standard in monetary systems was kept also in the period between the two world wars.