Think about this. Not just the fact that the British tried to flood the market with fake Continental dollars to devalue the American currency but the fact that they used the same (paper) to make the counterfeits making it virtually undetectable.
))) Now fast forward and think about voting ballots printed by the Chinese and used to undermine the U.S. Election of 2020 (((
But back to the 1700s. This is what Benjamin Franklin had to say about it: "Benjamin Franklin, when he wrote his memoirs, looked back on the time of the flood of fake currency:"
"Paper money was in those times our universal currency. But it being the instrument with which we combated our enemies they resolved to deprive us of its use by depreciating it; and the most effectual means they could contrive was to counterfeit it."
Faking It: British Counterfeiting During the American Revolution
Now, to continue,
" In 1781 the people had had enough and in the May 12 edition of the Rivington’s Royal Gazette the following story took over the front page:" "The Congress is finally bankrupt! Last Saturday a large body of the inhabitants with paper dollars in their hats by way of cockades, paraded the streets of Philadelphia, carrying colors flying, with a dog tarred, and instead of the usual appendage and ornament of feathers, his back was congress covered with the Congress’ paper dollars.
This Bankrupt. example of disaffection, immediately under the eyes of the rulers of the revolted provinces, in solemn session at the State House assembled, was directly followed by the jailer, who refused accepting the bills in purchase of a glass of rum, and afterwards by the traders of the city, who shut up their shops, declining to sell any more goods but for gold or silver. It was declared also by the popular voice that if the opposition to Great Britain was not in future carried on by solid money instead of paper bills, all further resistance to the mother country were vain, and must be given up."
So in short, what we are facing is nothing new. We survived it before. The idea of the British was to flood the market with counterfeit currency which had the same effect as continually printing more money. The more money in circulation, the smaller the value of the currency notes.
I hope I made that simple enough for the layman to understand.
OK. I was working backwards trying to “catch up” to the beginning. My brain is mush, I’m gonna take a nap. Later.
thx for posting that.....one can learn so much here on FR.....