The World History of Money

Asia

Ancient Times – Coins were traded from Syria to China on the trade route called the Silk Road. In addition, rice, clothes, and salt were used to trade the same way that we use money today.

2000 BC – This is a weight from Mesopotamia which was used to weigh silver in 2000 BC.




600 BC – China makes coins shaped like cowrie shells and hand tools. These were some of the first coins ever made by a country!

300 BC – In this time period, the first Indian coins were made. They were modeled after the Greek's coins. From the 13th century AD, the Indian coins were based on coins made by the region of Islam, until during the colonial period when they looked like European coins. The coins made in the 4th century BC were silver with punched out holes. Later, they were square with an elephant.

620 – The first coin made in Japan is called the “Kai Yuan Tong Bao". It was minted, or made, by the Tang Dynasty. This is very important. It introduced real money to Japan. This was the first real money that Japan had. Below is a picture of the Kai Yuan Tong Bao coin.

1319-1331 – Japan and India start to use paper money. This is another big step for these two countries. These days most countries have coins and paper money. This brought Japan into the future world of money.

1500-1700 – The Koreans copy China’s currency from the way it looks to how it is made. Japan, Vietnam, and China’s currencies are spread across Asia.

1600-1601 – Tokugawa created The Monetary System. He also started Kinza and Ginza mints. Kinza means gold and Ginza means silver.

1870-1893 – More silver was discovered in the world. This meant that the money in countries such as China, Japan, and South East Asia, was no longer worth as much as it used to be worth.


1882 – The Bank of Japan is founded. It is the first national bank created in Japan. The National Bank of Japan is the central bank of Japan. The top priorities of the Bank of Japan are issuing bank notes, carrying out currency and monetary control, maintaining an orderly financial system, maintaining price stability, and contributing to the productive development of the national economy.

1891 – Japanese savings banks increase by 20 times. By 1901 the number of savings banks are up to 441. That’s 421 more banks than there were ten years ago!

1897 – While adopting the gold standard, Japan created more gold reserves which enabled them to make the change from silver to gold.

Present – Today in Japan they use yen and credit cards. The Japanese are advanced in technology and do many things that we do here in America. Many countries use credit cards. They are a form of modern day currency.

10,000 yen issued on November 1, 2004

1,000 yen issued November 1, 2004

5,000 yen issued November 1, 2004

Future – Credit cards and digital money are the currency of the future. We will completely wipe out things like identity theft because of new advanced security. We will have locks that only open to the sound of your voice or your specific finger print. Every person will have devices that will allow them to do all of their shopping from home. Nobody will use coins or paper money. They'll just take out their credit card and charge whatever they buy. Checks will still be used but not as often.

The World History of Money

Europe

2500 BC – The earliest records of payments were written in cuneiform on clay tablets.

Pre-Roman Britain – The Britons used gold torcs before they started to use their own coins. This is a picture of a fancy gold torc.

Roman Times – Coins have been found on the trading route called the silk road from Rome to China. Romans used to barter with these countries below:

~From Britain: Hunting dogs, woolen cloaks, silver, lead

~From Spain: Fish sauce, wine, olive oil, cloth

~From Egypt: Papyrus, corn

~From Gaul (France): Wine, pottery

~From Greece: Wine, marble, purple dye

~From the East and China: Silks, spices, perfumes, jewels

650 BC – This is a Lydian coin that was made in 650 BC. It was one of the earliest coins.

336 BC – Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire within eight years after he became king. Alexander's face was on his own coins, called silver tetradrachmas.

44 BC – Julius Caesar was the commander of the roman legions and dictator for life. Some coins of this time illustrate the major events in Caesar's life.

632 – The first Islamic coins were struck in the late seventh century. Islam has a prohibition against human images on their coins so instead Islamic coins bore quotes from the Koran.

700 – In the eighth century, Anglo-Saxon kings began striking silver coins, also known as pennies.

1095 – There was a crusade against the Islamic states that controlled the Holy Land. Crusader coins closely imitate Islamic issues.

1500 – Queen Elizabeth introduced Britain's first machine-made coins.


1914 – The British government made these treasury notes to replace coins in 1914.

2000 – Europe came up with a currency that all of the countries in the European Union can use. It is called the Euro.

Present – Most of Europe is currently using the Euro and digital money.

Future – I think that there is going to be digital money in the forms of bytes, and it will be the important new currency of the future.

The World History of Money

Africa

Ancient Times – Salt is the currency. That is cool because you need salt to live.

300 BC – Egypt used grain as currency.
Colonization – When the Europeans first explored for gold in Africa, they took and traded with gold, diamonds, and even people as slaves.

1490 – Manillas were used as currency. They are bracelets made from copper or brass. This is a picture of a manilla.

1500’s – Cattle, crops, and other animals were used as currency.

1700’s – Cowrie shells were used for currency or trade. That is odd because there would be more money by the ocean.

1760 – Cloth and woven goods were used as currency. This is cool because you can make money by making cloths.

1791 – This was a silver dollar used in West Africa.

1912 – The West African Currency Board was established.

Present – Currently, Africans use paper money, coins, and credit cards.

Future – I think they will use digital money in the future that will have heavy security. It will have your fingerprint so nobody can steal your money.

The World History of Money

Americas

Ancient Times – Below is a picture of xuigi and coca beans. They were used to trade in pre-Columbian Mexico.

1500’s – This is when the earliest use of wampum was suspected.

1600’s-1700’s – The Spanish dollar coin served as the unofficial national currency of the American colonies.

1639 – Wampum was considered a type of money for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1700s – This is how much Wampum was worth: 360 white beads equaled 5 schillings &
6 white beads equaled 1 penny.


1776 – This banknote was issued in New Jersey. It is in British pounds, not dollars.


1776 – The Continentals go down in value. Continentals were a typical note issued by the Continental Congress. They were issued in order to pay off the costs of the Revolution, but soon grew worthless, due to lack of confidence in the government. This is where the term, "not worth a continental" came from.

1793 - The first U.S. coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint and presented to Martha Washington.

1860-1921 – The number of banks in the U. S. increased by 19 times.


1862 – The Bureau of Engraving and Printing was established.

1865 – Approximately 1/3 of all circulating American currency was counterfeit.

1873 – The silver dollar stopped being of standard value.

1930 – The Great Depression effected people worldwide. It also started the end of the gold standard.

1934 –100,000 dollar bill was one of the largest banknotes issued by the United States Mint. Pictured on it was Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States.

1938 – Today’s nickel was "invented."

1950 – The credit card was finally accepted.These credit cards are from the 1950's.

1990 – A new series of bank notes was introduced to improve security and stay away from counterfeiters and advances in technology which makes it easier to reproduce currency. These notes have micro printing.


Present – We currently use pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, one dollar bills, five dollar bills, ten dollar bills, twenty dollar bills, fifty dollar bills and one hundred dollar bills. These are the most basic currencies, but many others also exist in active use. We also use credit cards.

Future – I believe that there will be a totally new monetary system. Other than a finger-print-activated vault, there will be anywhere from a 56 or 72 cent pieces. There will also be dollar bills just like them. I believe that by 2025, we will use money made of crystals and valuable stone. They will be encased in clear, thick plastic. They will be because if someone dropped it, it would break without the case. There is also a possible chance that there will be the same money as there is used today. Overall, I think that they will not use the exact same money as the use right now, because governments always feel like they have to improve.