“Numerous banks used to print their own competing currencies. Contrary to the claims of John Kenneth Galbraith and other left-wing economists, private competition tended to prevent runaway inflation and deep depressions.”
I don’t think competition had much to do with it. The real difference is that those private banknotes were backed with actual physical commodities, like gold and silver. That’s why they were a better store of value than the notes we have backed with nothing.
printing was also MUCH more difficult then.
the first color copies of money could fool vending machines.