Establishment of convertible currencies is one of the chief goals of economic reform in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. However, convertibility relates closely to the entirety of a country's reform strategy and there are a number of possible paths to its achievement. This study analyzes the issue in the Eastern European context, reviews the history of efforts elsewhere to achieve convertibility and recommends preferred courses of action. In particular, it considers the relative merits of "shock" programmes, including immediate national declarations of convertibility and the more gradual approach adopted by the Western European nations (via regional institutions), and Japan after World War II.