The Most Perfect Measure of Value

“Historically, many different goods have been used as media: tobacco in colonial Virginia, sugar in the West Indies, salt in Abyssinia, cattle in ancient Greece, nails in Scotland,” writes economist Murray N. Rothbard in his book “What Has Government Done to Our Money?” He goes on to emphasise that “[t]hrough the centuries, two commodities, gold and silver, have emerged as money in the free competition of the market”.