在上世纪20年代，世界经济围绕着固定汇率机制重建。 在这一机制下，很多国家不以黄金的形式持有储备（这是第一次世界大战以前的惯例 ） ， 而是以外汇的形式，特别以英镑为主。
In the 1920’s, the world economy was reconstructed around a fixed exchange rate regime in which many countries held their reserves not in gold (as was the practice before the First World War) but in foreign exchange, especially in British pounds sterling.