The Journal of Economic History

Table of Contents - 1984 - Volume 44, Issue 03  

Articles

Why Was Specie Scarce in Colonial Economies? An Analysis of the Canadian Currency, 1796–1830

Angela Redisha1

a1 The author is Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of British Columbia

Abstract

Colonial economies suffered from a scarcity of specie that traditionally has been attributed to a chronic external drain. An analysis of the Canadian currency in the early nineteenth century suggests that the explanation for the specie scarcity lies in the multi-coin monetary standard imposed by the currency laws. Gresham's Law accurately predicts the coins that circulated in Canada, and it is concluded that the colonists suffered from a lack of quality rather than quantity of specie.