Data sources: Global Financial Data, Bloomberg
Data is available from 1660 but due to the spike in the exchange rate up to 5000 between 1776-1781 it has been excluded in order to show a better scaled chart.
Analysis by PolarPacific (July 2004):
Some levels of interest
2.00: last peak (prior to EMS crisis)
2.20: current value of logscale trendline joining major tops in 1864 and 1934
2.40: geometric average between 20th century monthly closing High at 5.28 and monthly closing Low at 1.09.
2.80: peak during post-WWII stability and neckline of inverted H&S formation
Allowing for the Bretton Woods regime, during the 50-year span from 1951-2001 there were altogether 7 major Lows — all spaced virtually 100 months apart. These 7 actual Lows plus the next 2 projected ones in OCT2009 and FEB2018 are indicated by the red boxes.