Timeline Sunday 26 February 1797

Events on Sunday 26 February 1797 1

• 1797 Bank of England Suspends Gold Payments Bank Restriction Act halts convertibility of banknotes Fearing a run on gold reserves amid invasion scares and war financing needs, the British government suspended the Bank of England's obligation to redeem banknotes for gold. The restriction lasted, with interruptions, until 1821. It marked a major shift in British monetary policy during the French Revolutionary Wars.