Palma, NunoO'Brien, Patrick K2020-07-202020-07-202020O'brien, P.K., Palma, N. (2020). Danger to the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street? The Bank Restriction Act and the regime shift to paper money, 1797-1821. European Review of Economic History, 24(2), 390-426. DOI 10.1093/ereh/hez0081361-4916http://hdl.handle.net/10451/44042The Bank Restriction Act of 1797 suspended the convertibility of the Bank of England's notes into gold. The current historical consensus is that the suspension was a result of the state's need to finance the war, France’s remonetization, a loss of confidence in the English country banks, and a run on the Bank of England’s reserves following a landing of French troops in Wales. We argue that while these factors help us understand the timing of the Restriction period, they cannot explain its success. We deploy new long-term data which leads us to a complementary explanation: the policy succeeded thanks to the reputation of the Bank of England, achieved through a century of prudential collaboration between the Bank and the TreasuryengBank of EnglandFinancial revolutionFiat moneyjournal article10.1093/ereh/hez008