sovereignty

主権　—　Institutions

The power to settle matters finally within a territory.

Akçe of Orhanc. 1327 Sultani Gold Coin (Suleiman I)16th century Crown of Cromwell1658

To whom belongs the right to determine one's own money? — The question of monetary sovereignty was posed when mother countries prohibited the paper money of their colonies. In the Islamic world, the right to strike coins in one's own name (sikka), alongside the Friday sermon (khutba), was a declaration of sovereignty.

The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 solidified the sovereignty of the German principalities, and with sovereignty came the right of coinage. To share standards but not surrender sovereignty — this is a model of decentralized unity.

⚠ There is also a trade-off of surrendering sovereignty in exchange for lower costs and higher quality. Japan, which used Song dynasty cash coins, and the countries of the Eurozone, which chose to share monetary sovereignty with their neighbors, are both party to this same bargain.