# silver-as-measure-of-value

## Definition

The historical use of silver as the primary standard for measuring value in most modern European nations, where accounts are kept and the value of goods and estates are generally computed in silver rather than gold or other metals. Smith notes that silver has typically been preferred as the measure of value because it was the first metal used as an instrument of commerce and has continued to serve this function even when the necessity was not the same.

## Source Chapter

Book 1, Chapter 5: "OF THE REAL AND NOMINAL PRICE OF COMMODITIES, OR OF THEIR PRICE IN LABOUR, AND THEIR PRICE IN MONEY."

## Context

Smith discusses silver as a measure of value while explaining the historical development of monetary systems and the preference for different metals in different contexts. He notes that in England and other European nations, accounts are kept and values computed in silver, and that this preference seems to have been given to the metal which nations happened first to make use of as the instrument of commerce.

## Economic Domain

Exchange

## Smith's Original Wording

"In England, therefore, and for the same reason, I believe, in all other modern nations of Europe, all accounts are kept, and the value of all goods and of all estates is generally computed, in silver."

## Modern Interpretation

Silver as measure of value represents the historical role of precious metals in monetary systems before the development of fiat currency. While modern economies no longer use precious metals as monetary standards, the concept illustrates the evolution of monetary systems and the search for stable value measures. It relates to modern discussions about the nature of money, the role of commodities in value measurement, and the historical development of financial systems.