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On June the 22th 1816, during the reign of George III, the English Parliament decided to eliminate silver as basis of the monetary system in favour of the gold standard. In 1817 the gold guinea of 21 shillings was replaced by a new coin weighing 7.98 grams, with content of 22 carats and with a pure content of 7.32 grams. On the reverse of the coin, there was the image of St. George killing the dragon, realized by the Italian engraver Benedetto Pistrucci. The minting of gold coins, commonly called gold pounds, also continued with the successors of George III, becoming a reference money for international trade and as a form of investment, thanks to an incredibly high demand. It spread above all during the Victorian era, when the British Empire reached its great brilliance. Even today many Asian people hoard almost exclusively British pounds in gold.
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