Gresham's law

noun

Economics.

1. the tendency of the inferior of two forms of currency to circulate more freely than, or to the exclusion of, the superior, because of the hoarding of the latter.

Gresham's law

noun

1. the economic hypothesis that bad money drives good money out of circulation; the superior currency will tend to be hoarded and the inferior will thus dominate the circulation

Gresham's law

1. An economic principle proposed by an English financier, Sir Thomas Gresham, that bad money will drive good money out of circulation. For example, if the U.S. government minted silver dollars and then, at a later date, began to mint dollar coins out of cheaper metals, the public would hoard the silver dollars (possibly for later sale at higher prices) rather than use them as a medium of exchange: silver dollars would stop circulating.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gresham's law¹

First recorded in 1855–60; named after Sir T. Gresham

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gresham's law¹

C16: named after Sir Thomas _Gresham

Example Sentences

Like Gresham’s law, which holds that bad money drives out good, today’s bad shyster pollsters are driving out good pollsters for partisan and pecuniary reasons.

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But there are certainly millions of them in a country of a third of a billion, and their presence in a major political party works as a kind of psychological Gresham's Law, resulting in the worst elements driving out the good.

Read more on Salon

In an era of instant, inexpensive and high-velocity dissemination of anyone’s words, there is a Gresham’s law of rhetoric: Bad drives out good.

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Like Gresham’s law about bad money.

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If you talk to economists, they will tell you something about Gresham's law, which occurs when two different currencies are given the same value.

Read more on BBC