Forex Before the Euro - What Was It Like?

During the last few days, I've been wondering what the world of currency trading was like before the euro. The euro, as it stands now, is the combination of 16 different currencies put together (soon to be 17 with my home country joining the bloc next year). I'm not here to ask/discuss about whether or not it's a good idea - this topic is best left for non-trading related forums or threads.

If there is anyone here who has been trading currencies since before the euro, I would love your participation. What was it like back then compared to how it is today? Since I've been trading and learning to trade for just a few years, I don't really have a lot of smart questions to ask so anything you can bring out would be interesting to read.

Chris

wow Chris, i think we have to pray hard so the very experienced traders will come out & share.
i believe it's nearly impossible, but im open to miracles.

Maybe I'm too naive in thinking that someone would surface from beneath the rocks but I thought the best way to find out whether there are any old traders left here was to ask.
I still hope that someone will surface.

I'm not sure about actual trading back then, but you have to keep in mind that several currencies were pegged back then, just like the Danish krone is pegged to the euro right now. Clearly the Deutsche mark was the biggest currency back then, and for example the Dutch guilder was pegged to it. Trading volume for the Deutsche mark was therefore most probably the highest back than, as far as the eurozone is concerned, followed by the French franc.

Also, retail trading back then was probably non-existant, as these markets really commercialized with the rise of the internet.

The currency of my home country was pegged from the get go to the German mark (still is, but now the actual peg is to the euro). But Estonia and Denmark are both small economies (that's also why it is easier to maintain a peg). I'm hoping to hear about the deutschmark, the franc, the peseta and the lira, all of which represented powerful economies. But if what you say is true (about the rise of the retail market) then I guess this thread will die pretty soon.

Well Times magazine and new york times have got an archive section where you can search articles relating to your interest. You will surely get currency trading articles.

For example: I enjoy reading how Dow Jones was trading at 400-1000 levels from 1960 to 1982.