Gresham's Royal Exchange opens in London

Timeline

1. 1551–1559London · EnglandIn the 1550s, declining silver coin fineness and divergence between the gold-silver ratio and international market prices in England led to good money being melted or exported while bad money flooded circulation. Thomas Gresham played a key role in currency reform and royal borrowing; later generations summarized his observation as Gresham's law, providing theoretical background for financial institution-building in the 1560s.
2. 1565–1566Cornhill, London · EnglandGresham funded the construction of a four-arcade exchange in Cornhill, with a central clock tower and open courtyard, where merchants traded cloth, metals, and bills of exchange by trade. On January 23, 1566, Elizabeth I attended the opening ceremony and granted the title "Royal Exchange," giving London a fixed commercial venue comparable to Antwerp's.