We are all used to the fact that money is an integral element in the life of every person, that everything in the world has a price, and in order to get something, you must first have the value of this “something” in monetary terms. But not every one of us thought about what the history of the appearance of money represents, because it was not immediately that people came up with such a convenient opportunity to acquire what is needed.
The ancient history of the emergence of money
Until the time money appeared, most of the states that existed at that time used barter successfully (mutual benefit - “you are to me, I am to you”), but over time, people began to realize that different goods have different values, exchange, for example, an earthenware jug for bread extremely unprofitable. And it wasn’t so simple, for example, to a milker to exchange his milk for fish, since the fisherman was not at all interested in milk, he needed bread, and the baker, in turn, needed wheat. And so long as the milker bypasses this whole circle, he no longer needs fish.
Then, gradually in different countries began to introduce certain items as money. Suppose most Indian tribes used pearls or shells, other peoples used animal skins, furs or cattle, and later, during the time of Great Russia, salt bars were considered money, for example, in Ethiopia. Kauri shells were also a common monetary value in some countries: in Africa, Thailand, and India. And only after all this, people began to introduce metals as money. Thus began the modern history of the emergence of money.
The course of monetary development
At first, in most countries, bullion of copper, silver and other metals with different weight estimates were used as the monetary unit. Gold bullion was used only in a few small states (Libya, Pakistan), and other countries that officially declared the gold bullion as a monetary unit prepared it from an alloy of copper, gold and silver, but at first glance it was difficult to distinguish it from real gold. because copper gave a natural yellow color. Therefore, we can say that these states were engaged in falsification of the product.
Then, already in the seventh century BC, began to introduce coins of metal. Accordingly, the most valuable of them were gold coins, followed by silver, and copper coins, the most common and universally used. They called them standards and staters. Outwardly, they looked like ordinary beans.
Where did the ruble come from?
Metal money in the history of Russia appeared much later - at the end of the ninth century. Silver bars began to be cut into several approximately equal parts. So the name appeared - the ruble.
How did the first paper money appear
In China, the money had a very unusual design - round and flat coins with a square hole in the middle. This was necessary for convenience - they were strung on a string and hung on the neck. But over time, people realized that the so-called “necklace” was a heavy burden, and began to hand over coins for receipt, a written commitment that allowed them to be taken back at any time and used. Accordingly, over time, lenders and banks turned into a familiar phenomenon, and receipts became popular and were often used among people. So in 910, the first paper money was created in China. Mulberry bark served as the basis for paper.
In Russia, the story of the appearance of money from paper began only in 1769, when Catherine II brought this idea into the country. But paper money has developed rapidly in our country.
Now, every year, more and more are being forced out of the constant use of coins every year (pennies are now almost never used anywhere, and if they remain, then only tenfold), they are replaced by paper money (not so long ago a banknote of five thousand rubles was introduced).