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.
