Davlat oltin standartiga amal qilgan deb hisoblanadi, agar u xorijiy va ichki operatsiyalarda oltin tangalardan foydalansa yoki ichkarida oltinga almashtirilishi mumkin bo'lgan qog'oz pulni ishlatsa. Bu qog'oz pul ichki ehtiyojlar uchun va xorijga to'lovlar amalga oshirish uchun bo'lishi mumkin yoki faqat xorijga to'lovlar uchun bo'lishi mumkin, agar bu almashtirish narxi belgilangan bo'lsa. Boshqacha aytganda, davlat hali ham oltin standartiga amal qiladi, agar qog'oz birlik aniq miqdordagi oltinga belgilangan narxda almashtirilishi mumkin bo'lsa va aksincha. Bu holatda mamlakat valyutasining qiymati oltin qiymati bilan mustahkam bog'liq holda qolishi tabiiy bo'ladi. Shuning uchun, agar oltinning qiymati boshqa tovarlarga nisbatan oshsa, valyutaning boshqa tovarlarga nisbatan qiymati ham oshadi. Agar tovarlarning qiymati boshqa tovarlarga nisbatan kamaysa, valyutaning qiymati ham kamayadi.

A State would be following the gold standard if it used gold currency in its foreign and domestic transactions, or if it used domestically a paper money which could be exchanged for gold. This paper money could either be for domestic use and for making payments abroad or solely for making payments abroad, on condition that this exchange for has a fixed price. In other words, it would still be following the gold standard on condition that the paper unit can be exchanged for a specific quantity of gold, at a fixed price and vice-versa. It would be natural in this case for the value of the currency in the country to remain solidly linked to the value of gold. Therefore, if the value of gold rose in comparison with other commodities, the value of the currency in comparison with other commodities would rise as well. If the value of goods decreased in comparison with commodities, the value of the currency would also decrease.

Oltinga asoslangan pulning o'ziga xos xususiyati shundaki, pul birligi ma'lum miqdorda oltinga bog'lanadi. Boshqacha aytganda, qonunga ko'ra, u ma'lum og'irlikdagi oltindan iborat bo'lishi kerak. Oltinning import va eksporti erkin amalga oshiriladi, odamlar esa valyutalarni, oltin quymalarini yoki oltin kukunini erkin sotib olishlari va ularni eksport qilishlari mumkin bo'ladi.

Money based on gold has a special characteristic, reflected in the fact that the monetary unit is linked to gold in a specific amount. In other words it would, by law, consist of a specific weight of gold. The import and export of gold would be freely conducted, and people would be able to freely acquire currencies, gold bullion, or gold dust and be able to export them.

Shu sababli, bu holatda oltin turli mamlakatlar o'rtasida erkin harakatlanadigan bo'lsa, har bir inson xorijiy valyutani sotib olish yoki oltinni o'tkazish (ya'ni hisob-kitob qilish) usullaridan birini tanlashi mumkin; ammo inson arzonroq usulni tanlaydi. Shuning uchun, oltin va uning o'tkazish xarajati bozordagi xorijiy valyutalar narxidan qimmatroq bo'lsa, u holda xorijiy valyutadan foydalanish oqilona bo'ladi. Biroq, agar almashinuv kursi o'sha raqamdan oshib ketsa, oltinni muomaladan chiqarib, u bilan hisob-kitob qilish eng yaxshi bo'ladi.

Since gold in this instance would move freely between various countries, every person has the choice of either buying foreign currency, or transferring (i.e. settling in) gold; a person would however opt for the cheaper method. Therefore, since gold and the cost of its transfer would cost more than the price of the foreign currencies in the market, it would then be sensible to use foreign currency instead. However, if the exchange rate exceed that figure, it would be best to take the gold out of circulation and settle with it.