Who Invented Money
Share
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.
Please briefly explain why you feel this question should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported.
Money has been around since the dawn of mankind and has been used to facilitate trade and bartering since ancient times. The invention of money is largely attributed to the ancient Greeks and the development of the modern currency systems around the world. From coins, to paper bills, and now digital transfers, money has become a critical element in the functioning of society.
The ancient Greeks are credited with developing the world’s first currency, as well as the birth of the modern day banking system. In the seventh century B.C., banks began to appear in Greece and developed the earliest form of credit. They began to issue coins stamped with the image of a particular city to facilitate commerce among cities. Monarchs, governments and wealthy citizens owned a fraction of all the money and used it as a medium of exchange.
The use of coins spread to other parts of the world including India and China, although the use of coins in China predates that of the ancient Greeks. Government issued IOUs, known as Jiao and Ly, were used to facilitate commerce in the region.
From the ancient world to the development of paper money, it was largely a progression from bartering to coins to paper notes and then to digital transfers. Paper money made trading significantly easier and came into general use shortly after gold and silver coins. In the US, paper money was first issued in the 1750s, and in the UK in the 1690s under the reign of William III.
The invention of the first cashless system for digital payments, known as e-cash, helped give rise to the modern banking system and currency. Computerized payments allowed for faster and more secure transfers of money than ever before. Companies such as PayPal and Apple Pay are now a primary form of digital payments, with banks and traditional currencies becoming a thing of the past.
The invention of money changed the way people did business and improved the efficiency of trade by eliminating inefficiencies involved in bartering. Money has evolved and changed over the centuries, but its importance as an instrument of exchange remains evident. Whether it be in physical form or digital, money will always be a necessary part of life.