The Silver Empire is the first comprehensive account of how the Holy Roman Empire created a common currency in the sixteenth century. The problems that gave rise to the widespread desire to introduce a common a currency were myriad. While trade was able to cope with-and even to benefit from-the parallel circulation of many different types of coin, it nevertheless harmed both the common people and the political authorities. The authorities in particular suffered from neighbours who used their comparatively good money as raw material to mint poor imitations. Debasing their own coinage provided an, at best, short-term solution. Over the medium and long term, it drove the members of the Empire into rounds of competitive debasements, until they realised that a common currency was the only answer that addressed the core of the problem. Oliver Volckart examines the conditions that shaped the monetary outlook of the member states of the Empire, paying particular attention to the uneven access to silver and gold. Following closely the negotiations that prepared the common currency, he is able to illuminate the interest groups that were formed, what their agendas and ulterior motives were, how alliances were forged, and how it was eventually possible to obtain majority agreement on what a common currency should look like: a silver-based currency that was introduced in 1559-66. In fact, in contrast to what historians once believed, the common currency they achieved turns out to have functioned not significantly worse than other currencies of the time: it had similar problems and similar advantages as the money issued by more centralized governments.

This history of the first German common currency in the sixteenth century is a remarkable achievement. Silver Empire makes a very significant contribution to early modern European monetary history as well as to our understanding of the development of the Holy Roman Empire after the Reformation. * Joachim Whaley, University of Cambridge and author of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire *
Oliver Volckart ... masterfully traces the political tug of war that unfolded in sixteenth-century "Germany" (what was then the core of the Holy Roman Empire), culminating in the successful creation of a common silver currency, the Reichsguldiner. * Victoria Gierok, Project Syndicate *
The Silver Empire should be enjoyed for its historiographical grit and methodological elegance. * Michael Schlitz, Economic History Review *
With "The Silver Empire"", Oliver Volckart has succeeded in creating an impressive study that presents the history of the first common currency in Central Europe not only for economic historians, but also for a broader historical audience. * Florian Probst, H-Soz-Kult *
The Silver Empire is a seminal work that enters into contemporary perspectives and carefully narrates the business of decision-making on money matters in the German Empire. The crucial points are the intersections between currency policies and decision-making procedures in the complex context of the sixteenth-century Empire. The result is a convincing account of the development of the currency system and the arguments made in its favour. Oliver Volckart's book takes a fascinating transdisciplinary approach to a difficult topic and should be read by a broader audience far beyond experts. * Heinrich Lang, German Historical Institute London *
[A] seminal work that enters into contemporary perspectives and carefully narrates the business of decision-making on money matters in the German Empire ... Volckart's book takes a fascinating transdisciplinary approach to a difficult topic. * Heinrich Lang, German Historical Institute Bulletin *
With "The Silver Empire", Oliver Volckart has succeeded in creating an impressive study that presents the history of the first common currency in Central Europe not only for economic historians, but also for a broader historical audience. Despite the supposed dryness of the topic, the work offers a rousing insight into the dynamics of the 16th century and fills an important research gap in German monetary history. * Florian Probst, H-Soz-Kult *
An admirably compact and readable account of a complex period in German monetary history. As such it deserves a spot on every monetary historian's reading list. * William Roberds, Journal of Economic Literature *

After receiving a PhD from Free University, Berlin, in 1995, Oliver Volckart worked as a research officer at the Max Planck Institute for Research into Economic Systems in Jena and as a lecturer at Humboldt University, Berlin. He joined the Economic History Department of the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2007. Volckart has specialised on premodern monetary history since the 1980s and on institutional economics and the history of political economy since the 1990s.