January 14  This Day in History  General Interest  Jan 14, 1980:
Gold prices soar   Gold is scattered sparsely throughout the
earth's crust and since ancient times has been treasured for
both its scarcity and metallurgic properties. Before the 19th
century, most nations maintained a bimetallic monetary system,
which often included gold but consisted mainly of silver.
Beginning in Great Britain in 1821, units of currency were
redeemable for a fixed quantity of gold, a change that Britain
hoped would stabilize its rapidly growing economy. As the
Industrial Revolution spread, other countries followed suit, and
by the late 19th century most industrialized nations were on the
gold standard. In the new global economy, the common standard
facilitated international monetary transactions and stabilized
foreign exchange rates.  The reign of the full gold standard,
however, was short. In 1914, the curbing of gold exports at the
outbreak of World War I forced recourse to inconvertible paper
currency. After the war, the