Latin Monetary Union

Coins
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George I 5 drachma 1874
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Leopold II 5 francs 1868
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Napoleon III 5 francs 1868
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Vittorio Emanuele II 5 lire 1874

The Latin Monetary Union was a 19th century attempt to unify several European currencies into a single currency that could be used in all the member states, at a time when most national currencies were still made out of gold and silver.

In 1865, France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland (from 1868 Greece and from 1889 Romania, also Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Serbia, Montenegro, San Marino and the Papal State joined the union) agreed to change their national currencies to a standard and make them freely interchangeable.

Due to the fluctuations of gold and silver the union, disrupted by World War I, lasted until 1927 when it was disbanded.