The
silver standard is a
monetary system in which the standard
economic unit of account is a fixed weight of
silver. The silver specie standard was widespread from the fall of the
Byzantine Empire until the 19th century. Following the discovery in the 16th century of large deposits of silver at the
Cerro Rico in
Potosí,
Bolivia, an international silver standard came into existence in conjunction with the Spanish
pieces of eight. These silver dollar coins played the role of an international trading currency for nearly four hundred years.