In the 1920’s, the world economy was reconstructed around a fixed exchange rate regime in which many countries held their reserves not in gold (as was the practice before the First World War) but in foreign exchange, especially in British pounds sterling. During the course of the 1920’s, some of the official holders of pounds grew nervous about Britain’s weak foreign trade performance, which suggested that, like today’s dollar, the currency was over-valued and would inevitably decline.
在上世纪20年代，世界经济围绕着固定汇率机制重建。在这一机制下，很多国家不以黄金的形式持有储备（这是第一次世界大战以前的惯例），而是以外汇的形式，特别以英镑为主。在20年代期间，一些英镑的官方持有人对于英国对外贸易方面差强人意的表现颇为担心。正如现今的美元一样，这意味着该货币的价值被高估了因此贬值不可避免。