When it comes to what countries are on the gold standard today, you might hear the United Kingdom of Great Britain mentioned. That’s because Great Britain was the first country to adopt the Gold Standard, albeit accidentally in 1717. This happened after Sir Isaac Newton, who was the Master of the Royal Mint, mistakenly set the exchange rate for silver to gold too low.

The country then officially adopted the classical Gold Standard in 1821, only to leave in 1914. Britain later joined the Interwar Gold Standard in 1925 but stopped using the Gold Standard for the final time in 1931.