After entering 1855, the Austrian Government's economic meetings became more frequent. Besides dealing with non-performing assets, the more important matter was currency reform.
Unlike at the beginning of his reign, when Austria's gold and silver reserves had been insufficient and the government's economic focus had been stabilizing the currency's value.
During the Near East War, massive quantities of gold and silver had flowed into Austria through trade with Russia. The embarrassing shortage of gold and silver reserves had been alleviated, and the necessary conditions for gold standard reform were now in place.
Currency reform involved far too broad a scope to be decided by Franz on a whim. The cabinet had conducted repeated deliberations, yet still failed to reach a consensus.
At present, most countries used a gold-and-silver bimetallic standard, or simply used gold and silver directly as currency. Countries on the gold standard were still few.
Inside the government building, those supporting gold standard reform were debating those advocating the gold-and-silver bimetallic standard. This was Austria's final debate.
Whichever side prevailed would determine what standard Austria would implement for some time to come.
Which was superior and which inferior did not actually depend on the system itself. The most suitable was the best; adopting different monetary standards at different times was the optimal choice.
To avoid being too far ahead of his time and becoming a martyr, Franz handed the final decision to the elites of this era. The judgment of these professionals was far better than that of an amateur like him.
Franz instructed, "This meeting is solely to discuss the monetary standard. Bringing up any unrelated topics is forbidden, as are personal attacks.
"Think carefully before voicing your opinions. Your views will determine the future fate of the New Holy Roman Empire, and every factor must be