This law applies specifically when there are two forms of [[commodity money]] in circulation which are required by [[legal tender|legal-tender]] laws to be accepted as having similar [[face value]]s for economic transactions. The artificially overvalued money tends to drive an artificially undervalued money out of circulation<ref>http://mises.org/money/3s5.asp</ref> and is a consequence of [[price control]].
Gresham's law is named after Sir [[Thomas Gresham]] (1519–1579), who was an English [[financier]] during the [[Tudor dynasty]]. However, the law had been stated forty years earlier by [[Nicolaus Copernicus]].; for Inthis Polandreason, in Poland and eastern Europe, it is known as the '''Copernicus Law.''' who whote it down and published it first. The phenomenon had been noted even earlier, in the 14th century, by [[Nicole Oresme]]. This notion was developed also developed during the time of the [[Mamluk Empire]]. Specifically, it was developed by jurist and historian [[Al-Maqrizi]] (1364–1442), who wrote about a particular period in the Mamluk dynasty, when the rulers were simultaneously increasing the supply of a lower valued (copper) currency, andwhile hoarding the more valued (gold and silver) currencies.<ref>{{cite book|last=Baeck|first=Louis|title=The Mediterranean Tradition in Economic Thought|year=1994|publisher=Routledge|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-415-09301-5|pages=241|pages=105–106}}</ref> This account can be found in his work titled "Study of the Monetary System." The factpractice of using bad money being used in preference to good money is also noted by [[Aristophanes]] in his play ''[[The Frogs]]'', which dates from around the end of the 5th century BC.
