The Restriction Act of 1797 had solved the problem of government finances during the French wars by removing the link between paper money and the gold reserves which were supposed to guarantee the money’s value. The Act was renewed several times up to 1803 and then renewed to last until six months after the eventual peace. The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 brought a final end to the war and both required and disposed the government towards a restitution of the gold standard. In 1816 this was effected by the Coinage Act which introduced the 20s sovereign as a replacement for the 21s guinea for the first time in 1817. Going back to convertibility between paper currency and gold was a complex technical and fiscal process and its difficulties were compounded by, and in turn themselves…

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Restriction Act suspends specie payment by banks until one year after the end of the war.". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 April 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=949, accessed 23 November 2024.]