After some twists and turns, on May 12, 1855, the first currency after the establishment of the new Holy Roman Empire – the Rhine Guilder of the new Holy Roman Empire was officially released to the public.
The Government of Vienna successfully obtained the right to mint, and the reserves of the state governments were incorporated into the reserves of the Central Bank of the Empire, but they were temporarily deposited in the various states.
It wasn't that Franz didn't want to take the first step, but he considered that he had just dug a piece of meat from the bowls of the state governments. If he stimulated their nerves, it would easily cause a backlash.
Since everyone wanted to keep it in their hands, then so be it. Anyway, the central government would send people to supervise and prohibit anyone from using these reserves.
There was no doubt that after obtaining the right to mint, the central government could legally collect the seigniorage of the states. Seigniorage, as the name suggested, was the income obtained after the cost of issuing the currency was deducted.
Of course, in the era of the gold standard, there was still a need for reserves. The profit from issuing the currency would not be as big as the later era of the credit standard.
Even so, the coinage tax was still an important part of the fiscal revenue. In comparison, the tobacco and alcohol taxes were insignificant and couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath.
The British wanted to establish the "Pound Sterling – Gold" system, which essentially meant that they wanted to collect the seigniorage of the world. Obviously, this needed the recognition of the world, and everyone must be willing to use the Pound Sterling in international trade.
There were only two ways to achieve this. One was to use strength to suppress everyone, and the other was to make everyone accept the Pound Sterling as the international settlement currency through the exchange of interests.
So far, the British plan had not succeeded. The Government of Vienna had adopted the gold standard system, but unfortunately, the new Holy Roman Empire only recognized gold in international settlement.
What was the Pound Sterling? Could it be eaten?
On this issue, the Government of London and the Government of Vienna had communicated many times, but in the end, it was to no avail.
The British wanted to collect the seigniorage, but Franz also wanted to collect it! Austria was not qualified to collect the world's seigniorage, but in the circle of the Holy Roman Economic Union, it was still possible.
Otherwise, why would the Government of Vienna take the risk to carry out the gold standard reform? One had to know that the currency reform also needed to consume costs, and it also had to bear certain risks.
Judging from the current situation, after the currency reform, the Government of Vienna's seigniorage revenue would be about 0.5 to 2% of GDP.
The reason why there was such a huge difference in the data was mainly because of the country's economic development. The more prosperous the economy was, the more currency was needed in the market, and the higher the currency tax.
Of course, this was only for internal use. There definitely wouldn't be so many for external use. It was also impossible for Franz to demand that the other countries not issue their own currency and use the "Divine Shield." At most, he would ask everyone to use the "Divine Shield" in the settlement of foreign trade with the new Holy Roman Empire.
This was a long-term job. For the time being, everyone was still using gold and silver to settle the payment. The Divine Shield could only be used within the new Holy Roman Empire.
It wasn't easy to convince everyone to join the "Divine Shield — Gold" system. If there were no visible benefits, why would they pay the seigniorage tax?
Once the status of the international currency was established, the demand for gold reserves would also decrease. Everyone could rely on the credit of the various governments to support the value of the currency.
At present, the most mainstream currency was still gold and silver. This hard currency was the most widely used. The remaining pounds, francs, and Divine Shields were just ordinary currencies.
The British had already begun to promote the pound. Promoting the reform of the gold standard was the most important part. Only when everyone's standard was the same, could the pound — Gold system be established.
…
The Minister of Finance, Carr, said in high spirits, "Your Majesty, the release of the Divine Shield is going smoothly. Now we have enough gold and silver in our hands to deal with any fluctuations."
Thanks to the restoration of the gold and silver system in this era, the Government of Austria used silver in the international settlement, and everyone was still very happy to accept it.
If they waited until all the countries abandoned the double gold system, it would be difficult to obtain gold from the market. At that time, even if they bought all the gold in circulation, it wouldn't be enough.
Historically, because of the lack of enough gold in the market, the governments of the gold standard reform had to compromise with the British and accept the pound — Gold system.
Some countries even directly used the pound as the issuing currency because the gold shortage was too big. The value of the currency was directly pegged to the pound, and the value of the new currency was guaranteed by the credibility of the British.
This was the reason why people generally believed that the peak of the British was after the Anglo-Boer War. After obtaining the gold from South Africa, most of the gold in the international market fell into the control of the British, and the hegemony of the world's currency was established.
Franz nodded and said, "Don't let your guard down. Continue to strengthen the monitoring of the financial market. Once there is a large amount of capital outflow, immediately activate the emergency plan."
Although he didn't think that anyone would do anything at this time, the previous actions of the British had already sounded the alarm for Franz. In order to establish the hegemony of the British currency, who knew if the British would do something again.
Carr of the consortium replied solemnly, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. We have already sent people to keep an eye on the foreign financial groups that entered the country. Once they withdraw their capital, we will take action.
We have already collected their dirt. When the time comes, it will be enough to temporarily detain their capital. If the situation is serious, we can directly send them to the gallows. "
Which capitalist in this era didn't have a dark history? Even after entering Austria, these foreign funds had more or less restrained their behavior, but the capital was still bloody.
In normal times, in order to develop the domestic economy, if the people didn't report it, the officials wouldn't investigate it. These issues were put aside, and everyone pretended not to see anything.
Now that it was a critical moment, once these inconspicuous dark histories were exposed, it would be enough to make them suffer.
With a criminal record, the capital would become stolen money, and according to Austrian law, the final decision would be to seize or confiscate it.
Anyway, as long as there was evidence in hand, no matter how big their background was, the Government of Vienna had nothing to fear.
Franz said, "Continue to keep an eye on them. If they want to leave at this time, you can first send people to persuade them. If it really doesn't work, then use extreme measures.
Pay attention to the evidence in our hands. It must be convincing enough. Even if we take action, we can only kill the chicken to warn the monkey and arrest a few of the more serious ones.
We can't fall out with all the international capitals. When we take action, we must also pay attention to the methods. The government can't just go into battle with bare hands. "
If it wasn't necessary, Franz still didn't want to fall out with the international capitals. This kind of thing was like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. As long as they did it once, there wouldn't be a second chance.
In the future, it would be impossible to issue bonds in the international market or attract foreign funds. Even the normal commercial trade between Austria and the outside world would be attacked by them in retaliation.
Currently, Austria's industrialization process still needed foreign capital to add bricks and tiles, and these people were all valuable.
If they were strangled to death, even if the government got a large amount of cash, there would be no way to achieve the same results.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Carr replied cautiously.
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