The Age of Paper: The Bank Note, Communal Currency and British Society, 1790s-1830s

In the first detailed examination of Britain's transition to paper currency, Hiroki Shin explores how state, nation and community each played their respective role in its introduction. By examining archival materials and personal accounts, Shin's work sheds fresh light on societal, institutional, communal and individual responses to the transformation. The dominance of communal currency during the Bank Restriction period (1797–1821) demonstrates how paper currency derived its value from the...