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The abandonment of the gold standard during World War I allowed countries to print money to fund the war, which would not have been possible if they adhered to gold's discipline. This shift marked the beginning of the end for Europe's dominance.

The Wall Street crash and subsequent deflation forced most countries off the gold standard in the 1930s, except for the United States. Roosevelt's New Deal made it illegal for Americans to own gold.

In 1971, America came off the gold standard due to excessive spending on the Vietnam War and President Johnson's welfare programs. This led to a situation where the US didn't have enough gold to back the dollars it had printed.

When gold was money, the only way to create cash was by mining gold, a dangerous and expensive endeavor. Now, with no gold standard, money can be created through various means, such as printing money and issuing debt.

Since the final vestiges of the gold standard were abandoned in 1971, the supply of money has ballooned. This has led to more money chasing the same amount of goods, contributing to the rise in prices over the years.

Gordon Brown's decision to sell two-thirds of the UK's gold reserves at the market's bottom is considered one of the worst financial decisions in history, haunting him as gold prices rise.

In 1925, Britain returned to the gold standard at the pre-war rate as a show of strength, but it was a 'fake gold standard' since gold was no longer in circulation, unlike in the 19th century.

The gold sovereign, introduced in 1816 after the Napoleonic Wars, was the most successful coin in history. Today, it takes 650 modern pound coins to buy what one old pound coin was worth, illustrating the extent of currency debasement over time.