Evolution of the Gold Standard
Broadly, a gold standard is any mechanism that inhibits governmental devaluation of the currency by using gold as the actual or comparative standard of value. That said, any gold standard is only as good as the government’s adherence to it, which is why the “failure” of “The Gold Standard,” as some might argue, is actually rooted in the rulers’ failure to adhere to it, and not associated with the economic benefits and systematic advantages of a gold standard itself.