I thought England was a gold bankrupt?

[simondolan]

Not really, almost all currency in circulation today is Fiat anyway. That is it is accepted by tradition or convention at it's face value for what it is, under the direction of some authority with the power to impose penalties, and without backing from any kind of fixed asset.

Yep - worrying isn't it!

Apparently there is £48bn in actual circulation - no idea how much is held in bank accounts. Once you offset current levels of debt probably about £6.73

[The Lone Gunman]

The perfect example of a fiat currency:



31/05/1997 ZWD$100 = £5.40
31/05/2006 ZWD$100 = £0.000529

They just issued a 100,000 dollar bill due to 1000% inflation. The 50,000 wouldnt buy a loaf of bread.
The new bill is officialy worth 1 US Dollar but only 34 cents on the black market.