Origin of Money
Origin of Money from an Economic Perspective 1. Introduction Definition of Money: A medium of exchange, a store of value, a unit of account, and a standard of deferred payment. Importance of understanding the origin of money in economic theory and practice. 2. Barter System: The Precursor to Money Explanation of the barter system. Double Coincidence of Wants: The fundamental limitation. Problems with Barter: Lack of standardization, divisibility, and value storage. 3. Emergence of Commodity Money Definition and examples: Precious metals, grains, cattle, shells, etc. Characteristics of effective commodity money: Durability, portability, divisibility, uniformity, acceptability, and limited supply. Historical Examples: Cowrie shells in Africa, gold and silver in Europe. 4. Evolution to Metallic Money Standardization of precious metals as money. Introduction of coinage: Authenticity, uniformity, and convenience. Role of governments and ruler...