The mystique of sovereignty

It appears that a key turning point in monetary history occurred when people began to place more importance in the official stamp on a coin as opposed to its content, weight and purity.

Rothbard:

"The royal stamp on coins… gradually shifted the emphasis from weight to tale by wrapping coinage in the trappings of the mystique of state “sovereignty.”"

(Source: “The Case For A 100 Percent Gold Dollar”, Murray Rothbard - quoted by Alexander Villacampa)

Villacampa:

“The fall in emphasis of valuing money according to its weight than to its name systematically led to the adoption of central banking and a nationalized monetary policy. In addition, this concentration on name later eased the transition from partially backed gold monies to fiat currency.”

Source: Working paper posted at the Mises site: “A Basic Inquiry into the Nature and Effects of Monetary Economics. An Analysis of Money, Banking and Credit Theory”, Alexander Villacampa, Summer 2006