Asian Social Science; Vol. 9, No. 17; 2013 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Examining the Value of Money in Turkey over the Long Term (1469-2009) Adam Abdullah1 1 Faculty of Business Management and Accountancy, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia Correspondence: Adam Abdullah, Faculty of Business Management and Accountancy, University Sultan Zainal Abidin, Gong Badak Campus, 21300 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. Tel: 60-9-668-8275. E-mail:
[email protected] Received: August 5, 2013 Accepted: September 9, 2013 Online Published: November 29, 2013 doi:10.5539/ass.v9n17p187 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n17p187 Abstract This paper aims to examine the tremendous loss of value of money over the long term during the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey between 1469-2009. By 1844, 1.1 Ottoman lira exchanged for one English pound, but in 2005, 1.5 million Turkish lira exchanged for one U.S. dollar. By critically examining the value and purchasing power of money in Ottoman-Turkey, this paper compares empirical evidence and statistics through long term analysis of silver and commodity price indices, as to which medium of exchange provides for the best store of value. This paper discovers that monetary policy should not target stable prices, by managing the quantity or purchasing power of money, but instead adopt a monetary theory of value involving a stable currency, free of monetary management, permitting a stable purchasing power and thus stable prices. Keywords: silver price, commodity prices, value of money, purchasing power of money 1.