stable exchange rate under the classical gold standard (3)

In that case the pound sovereign , being five times as heavy as the dollar , would naturally have an exchange rate of $5 to 1 Euro .
NOW that is essentially how the per-1914 gold standard actually worked . of course, local pride tended to keep us using our coins and the English using theirs . But anyone was free to melt down our coins and have them converted into English coins (at nominal costs).So, except for the trifling costs of melting down , shipping across the ocean , and re coining , all countries on the gold standard had stable exchange rates whose par values , or parities , were determined by the gold content of their money unit .
Minor qualifications. gold being quite inconvenient to carry around for spending purposes, inevitably government issued paper certificates that were pledged to be redeemable in gold metal . people had the right to turn in gold for certificates and certificates for gold , and they often exercised that right