When pondering the prospects for the renminbi to become an international currency, it helps to look to history. During the course of the twentieth century, three major national currencies rose to international currency status: the dollar in the first half of the century and the mark and the yen over the two decades following the 1971–73 breakup of the Bretton Woods system. The three cases differ in many respects,including the terms on which the currencies ended the century. But there are some commonalities in the circumstances in which each rose to international currency status, which may hold lessons for the renminbi.