Gold standard
![Two golden 20 kr coins from the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which was based on a gold standard. The coin to the left is Swedish and the right one is Danish.](/Images/godic/202501/15/Two_20kr_gold_coins2335.jpg")
![Under a gold bullion standard, paper notes are convertible at a preset, fixed rate with gold bullion.](/Images/godic/202501/15/Gold_Bars2336.jpg")
![William McKinley ran for president on the basis of the gold standard.](/Images/godic/202501/15/McKinley_Prosperity2336.jpg")
![Ending the gold standard and economic recovery during the Great Depression.[29]](/Images/godic/202501/15/Graph_charting_income_per_capita_throughout_the_Great_Depression.svg2337.png")
A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. Three types can be distinguished: specie, bullion, and exchange.
Most nations abandoned the gold standard as the basis of their monetary systems at some point in the 20th century, although many hold substantial gold reserves.