Word: franc
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...that the exchange rate would recover. The Paris money market--the scene of his greatest triumph--would become his permanent resting place. His spirit would pass from that earthly shell through the veins of the monetary system to all corners of the earth. His very being would animate each franc, each dollar, each ruble, rupee, and drachma. And, long after his death, statesmen would journey to inspect the great French general, the leader of men who proved far more valuable dead than alive...
...Weak Francs. Europe's businessmen, who previously complained that the unchecked inflow of U.S. dollars aggravated the Continent's inflation, are now warning that the cutback raises the danger of deflation. The Swiss franc and the French franc have weakened in relation to the dollar on international money markets, and the short-term lending rate for Euro-dollars-the $5 billion-plus hoard of dollars that is circulated by Europe's banks-has jumped from 41% to 5% as borrowers scramble for funds to finance expansion. In Australia, where the Sydney stock market suffered its sharpest fall...
This golden tide owes its swell chiefly to Switzerland's reputation for neutrality, conservatism and sound currency. (Today, the Swiss franc is backed more than 100% by gold.) The Swiss have sheltered foreign possessions as well as people through the Thirty Years' War, the Huguenot persecutions, the 1848 revolutions, and the last three major wars in Europe...
Easy Mistake. There was trouble about coins too. The New Franc coins issued in 1963 were the same size as those they replaced, except for the 50-centime piece, which was considered too cumbersome. It was trimmed down to within 1½ millimeters of the diameter of the new 20-centime piece and to within a few grams of its weight. Frenchmen often mistook the 50-for the 20-centime piece, and they soon discovered that the 20-centime piece worked perfectly well in 50-centime vending machines, while the 50-centime worked in 1-franc machines...
...government has finally given up, is now preparing to remove the troublesome 50-centime coin and replace it with a new half-franc piece of different size. Also adding to the morale of inflation-ridden Frenchmen will be a new 10-franc piece, purposely made very heavy to give "the impression that the franc is a solid, stable currency...