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• Preface to the New Edition
• Preface to the English Edition
• Preface to the Second German Edition
• Part One: the Nature of Money
• Chapter 1: The Function of Money
• Chapter 2: On the Measurement of Value
• Chapter 3: The Various Kinds of Money
• Chapter 4: Money and the State
• Chapter 5: Money As an Economic Good
• Chapter 6: The Enemies of Money
• Part Two: the Value of Money
• Chapter 7: The Concept of the Value of Money
• Chapter 8: The Determinants of the Objective Exchange Value, Or Purchasing Power, of Money
• Chapter 9: The Problem of the Existence of Local Differences In the Objective Exchange Value of Money
• Chapter 10: The Exchange Ratio Between Money of Different Kinds
• Chapter 11: The Problem of Measuring the Objective Exchange Value of Money and Variations In It
• Chapter 12: The Social Consequences of Variations In the Objective Exchange Value of Money
• Chapter 13: Monetary Policy
• Chapter 14: The Monetary Policy of Etatism
• Part Three: Money and Banking
• Chapter 15: The Business of Banking
• Chapter 16: The Evolution of Fiduciary Media
• Chapter 17: Fiduciary Media and the Demand For Money
• Chapter 18: The Redemption of Fiduciary Media
• Chapter 19: Money, Credit, and Interest
• Chapter 20: Problems of Credit Policy
• Part Four: Monetary Reconstruction
• Chapter 21: The Principle of Sound Money
• Chapter 22: Contemporary Currency Systems
• Chapter 23: The Return to Sound Money
• Appendix A: On the Classification of Monetary Theories
• Appendix B: Translator’s Note On the Translation of Certain Technical Terms
• Biographical Note

APPENDIX B

Translator’s Note on the Translation of Certain Technical Terms

It is never possible to be certain that the full significance of a technical term has been brought out in a translation. A short list of the original German terms for the kinds of money and money substitutes mentioned in the present work, and of the English expressions which have been used to translate them, is therefore appended.

The word Umlaufsmittel presented a peculiarly difficult problem. There is no established English equivalent for the sense in which Professor Mises uses the term. “Circulating medium,” the literal translation, is clearly inappropriate, for it suggests associations with currency which are quite foreign to Professor Mises’ meaning. “Bank money” is inadequate, for Umlaufsmittel includes, not merely bank deposits, but also money substitutes issued by the state (such as token money). “Credit instrument,” which at first sight might appear satisfactory, is inconsistent with Professor Mises’ insistence on the difference between Umlaufsmitteln and bills of exchange; and, furthermore, Professor Mises explicitly argues that the issue of Umlaufsmitteln is not a credit transaction in the more fundamental sense. For want of a better equivalent, therefore, the expression “fiduciary medium” has been adopted. It accords with Professor Mises’ definition of Umlaufsmitteln as money substitutes not covered by money,52 and it evokes associations with the controversies about the Peel Act of 1844 that are in harmony with Professor Mises’ attitude. It also draws attention to Professor Mises’ emphasis upon the similarity between uncovered bank deposits and uncovered notes.

The following equivalents for other technical terms have also been adopted:53

The following diagram shows the relationships between some of these terms in Professor Mises’ system:

[52. ]See p. 155 above.

[53. ]See also pp. 146 n and 247 n above.