History Of The Appearance Of The First Currency
The unit of money in the form of purchasing power has existed for thousands of years and has come in very different forms. The materials and formats used to obtain goods or services have evolved over time, but have always been of value to every society. From barter to housewares, from fiat currency to digital currency, there has been a constant monetary evolution.
Money as we know it today is the result of a long process of development and has its own nominal value. A few millennia ago, money did not exist. In ancient times, people used to barter, which means to exchange goods for goods without reference to an equivalent value. Anyone who wants to know more useful information about the history of money can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_money.
The Main Characteristic of Medieval Money
Money is an abstract unit of a certain value that is used as a universal means of payment for services and goods. It has three main functions: unit of account, instrument of exchange and savings. It is worth paying attention to the main features that have significantly influenced on the stages of evolution and functioning of medieval currency:
- Precious metals such as silver and gold were the foundation of money systems during the Middle Ages. But they were almost always insufficient to meet consumer demand.
- The value of each coin depended on the type of used metal and the key parameters of the standard weight, number of coins that were made and their alloys.
- There was some restriction on the circulation of coins outside of the territory where they were issued.
- There were often local coins and foreign coins in circulation within a certain area. The reason for this was that people needed money of value.
Each coin had three meanings:
| Meaning | Description |
| intrinsic value of the minted metal | Net value of coins without “mark-up” |
| legal value assigned by the issuing authority | It was always higher than intrinsic value due to the minting costs and because of the fees the minting authorities charged for the coins |
| market value | When the legal value greatly exceeded the intrinsic value, there was a separate market value that tended to reduce the difference between the other two. |
Bank Cards and Electronic Payments
In the 20th century, the multi-purpose credit card entered the arena for the first time. At first, cardholders were charged an annual and monthly fee. In just over 70 years, the card has gone from a novelty to a common means of payment.
With the launch of PayPal, digital payments became possible on a large scale, thereby fundamentally changing the way financial transactions are conducted. Mobile payments such as: Apple Pay, Venmo, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Cash App. These apps are often referred to as digital wallets. They can be used not only to make payments conveniently, but also to store financial information.
Today, this payment method is quite relevant among online casino gamblers. With its help, players can pay for their favorite games: baccarat, roulette, blackjack, poker, GCash slot machine and other gambling entertainment. The players can enjoy the game from the comfort of their own home.
Paper banknotes
The creators of the first paper notes are the Chinese in the 7th century. It wasn’t until the 1600s that they began to be used in Europe. There were two forms of paper money: “banknotes”, which were converted into coins, and “drafts”, which were receipts for certain values. They were kept on bills. Over time, banknotes found their way to the USA, where the first banking system was established. And in 1914 the first federal banknote in the form of a ten dollar note was issued. Paper money has undergone an evolution in terms of the technique that is used to print it. Today, banknotes are printed using specially prepared paper and several printing processes that complement each other, providing the end product with a large margin of strength, security and durability.
Coins
The first metal coins began to be used as money between 550 and 600 BC in Lydia. This is an ancient kingdom located in what is now Turkey. The Lydians at that time already knew how to extract a mixture of metals from the river, which was called electrum. But King Croesus was able to take this type of coin to a higher level. They began to be made from gold and silver. All coins had an image of a lion on them, and the size of the image determined the value. The more valuable coins showed the lion as a whole, while the less valuable ones had only his paw. For centuries, countries minted their most valuable coins in gold, while silver and copper were used to produce less valuable ones. This system persisted until melchior and other metal alloys were used. At the same time, coins gained a nominal value that did not depend on the value of the metal content in them.
Cowrie Shells
These were the very first coins. They had many essential qualities: durability, transportability, uniform size and easy identification, as well as being difficult to counterfeit and easy to count. It was a combination of these factors that made them ideally suited for use as units of money.
Money, in whatever form, is not valuable in and of itself. It has value for the goods and services one is able to purchase with it. It is a kind of guarantee that gives its owner all the goods available to him through its purchasing power.
For those who are deeply interested in the history of money, you can go to https://www.britannica.com/story/a-brief-and-fascinating-history-of-money, where interesting historical facts about the origin of money are available.
To sum up, the logical conclusion is that money was not an ingenious invention, but arose as a result of human need, and its evolution each time reflects man’s willingness to bring his monetary instrument into line with the reality of the modern economy.
