Mario Pisani on money: a treasury-centric view

Mario, a civil servant, academic and trustee of the Royal Mint Museum, explores the role of the Treasury and other state institutions in safeguarding the value of money.

For markets to function a medium of exchange is required – money – but what gives it value? In the world of fiat money, value is not linked to an amount of precious metal, but an ability to transact predictably over time. This, in turn, is derived from the trust, stability and security of a currency. Mario will argue that such characteristics are a function of the capacity of state institutions to safeguard them because the ultimate safe assets are those that give you a claim on the state itself.