Plus ca change

摘要

This month has seen progress in one bold monetary experiment, the issuance of euro notes and coins, and the failure of another, Argentina's currency board. In the history of money, this is all par for the course. Currencies, and systems for managing them, have come and gone with striking frequency ever since Croesus, king of Lydia, first minted coins in the sixth century BC. Might the euro also fail? A new book, "The Big Problem of Small Change", underscores how little has been learnt from more than a millennium of monetary experiment. This fascinating new history of money shows that the key ingredients of a sound currency were identified in Europe hundreds of years ago. The mystery is why, even today, so many governments fail to put this knowledge to work.