the economic hypothesis that bad money drives good money out of circulation; the superior currency will tend to be hoarded and the inferior will thus dominate the circulation
Word origin
C16: named after Sir Thomas Gresham
Gresham's law in American English
(ˈgrɛʃəmz)
the theory that when two or more kinds of money of equal denomination but unequal intrinsic value are in circulation, the one of greater value will tend to be hoarded or exported; popularly, the principle that bad money will drive good money out of circulation
Word origin
after Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-79), Eng financier, formerly thought to have formulated it