The history of money began a long time ago. In the primitive period there was a simple exchange of goods. After all, not everyone could make axes and weapons and at the same time be a good hunter. And then an idea came up. People decided that the blacksmith needed to make weapons. The hunter goes hunting with him, and will give part of the booty as payment for the ax and arrowhead. Thus, a mutually beneficial barter exchange arose. As a result of this, a division of labor appeared. Individual artisans specialized in the production of certain things.
However, for the exchange, there is a need for the needs of one merchant in the product that offers another. As a result, barter was possible only if both sellers had the things necessary for each of them. The existence of such a condition limited the likelihood of an exchange of goods. On the other hand, equal things must participate in barter. This condition was also an obstacle to exchange.
The need for barter operations led mankind to isolate a certain equivalent from a large number of goods. It was he who began to be used in the exchange.
The history of the emergence of money at this stage is characterized by the appearance of goods that possessed sufficient liquidity (ability to sell). They became certain objects, as well as animals. For example, ancient Ethiopians used salt bars in their calculation. The inhabitants of Nauru used rats as the equivalent in exchanging goods, and the Aztecs used cocoa beans as the first monetary units. American colonists exchanged the goods they needed for animal skins of valuable breeds or tobacco leaves. Cowry shells are widespread . The first money they began to serve in China, and then they used the people of Thailand, India and Africa.
The history of the emergence of money at the next stage required the fulfillment of certain requirements:
- they should not lose their presentation in storage and transfer;
- carrying them with you should have been easy;
- a small amount of money should have been enough for the necessary purchases;
- the total value should not decrease with fine crushing.
The history of the emergence of money at the next historical stage was marked by the appearance of metal coins. They were first released in the seventh century BC in Lydia. The first coins looked like beans and were called staters or standards. After a hundred years, metal money began to be cast in Greece, in southern Italy, as well as in Asia Minor.
The history of the emergence of money in Russia began with Kievan Rus. It was there that in the ninth and tenth centuries the origin of coinage took its roots. Gold metal money was most valued. Following them are silver, and then copper. Some Russian principalities minted their money. However, the silver “tenge” brought in by the Tatars was quite widespread. From it they got the name Russian money. A silver ingot was cut into different pieces to obtain fractional parts. Hence the word "ruble."
The third stage in the history of the development of monetary relations is the period that began in the nine hundred and sixtieth year. It was then that China launched the production of paper analogue of coins. The reason for the appearance of banknotes was the lack of metal. At the initial stage, paper for the production of money was made on the basis of bark of mulberry trees.
In the eighteenth century, banknotes were widely distributed in European countries, and at the end of the nineteenth century their position in the world became dominant.
The history of the occurrence of money, an essay on which you can always find on the Internet, is currently at its fourth stage. It consists in a gradual transition to electronic payments, through which a non-cash form of payment is carried out . Thus, money in the form of banknotes and coins is gradually being squeezed out of economic circulation.