Currency of Venezuela at the Royal Mint, London: Franco = 2 Reales = 20 Centavos Peso = 5 Francos = 10 Reales = 100 Centavos The monetary law of March 30, 1848 established the French franc ("franco frances"), 5·00 g, 0·900 fine, as the monetary unit of Venezuela. No detailed explanation was provided—presumably, the new government wanted to make a clean break with the policies of the conservative oligarchy ("Oligarquía Conservadora", 1830–1848) that it replaced. A table of coin ratings expressed in francos was published, and the Franco was declared equal to 20-centavos of the copper coins authorized between 1834 and 1842. Liberty-head
Gold standard to Congress the value of a decimal system. This system would also apply to monies in the United States. The question was what type of standard: gold, silver or both. The United States adopted a silver standard based on the Spanish milled dollar in 1785. From 1860 to 1871 various attempts to resurrect bi-metallic standards were made, including one based on the gold and silver franc; however, with the rapid influx of silver from new deposits, the expectation of scarce silver ended. The interaction between central banking and currency basis formed the primary source of monetary instability during this period.