An integral attribute of modern life is money as the main means of payment. These are paper notes, and metal coins, and plastic cards. But for a long period of human history, money did not exist and exchange trade was practiced.
In-kind exchange: the history of occurrence
It is possible to speak of its occurrence already among the tribes living in the primitive communal system. At that time, the economy was not difficult. To survive, people engaged in gathering and hunting. Over time, they were able to domesticate animals and became engaged in cattle breeding and farming.
Then there was a division of labor. Some worked in the field, others grazed cattle, still others carved carcasses, skinned animals from dead animals. And later, specialization began to appear among the tribes. So, some of them were mainly engaged in agriculture, while others were engaged in cattle breeding, and others were engaged in the production of any household items.
When the tribe began to produce more goods than it needed for consumption, surpluses began to form. The opportunity for exchange trading. That is, it was possible to exchange with another tribe, giving it surpluses and getting the right things or products for it.
Exchange trade in ancient Egypt
There it prevailed, starting from the time of the Early Kingdom, which existed from 3000 to 2800 BC. e. Then, during the reign of the first two dynasties, the state apparatus and a layer of scribes - officials for its service were just beginning to be created.
Money in the Old Kingdom did not exist. All calculations took place using other goods, that is, through exchange in kind. Large bureaucrats received their income from their own property or the one they controlled on behalf of the ruler. Pharaoh himself was the largest landowner.
The Egyptian trade was considered very convenient among the Egyptians. All trading operations and payment of salaries, tax collection did without the use of money. It was possible, for example, to exchange grain for wood, goose, cattle. But there was an approximate measure of the value of the goods.
In the time of the New Kingdom, a spiral made of copper wire called "Uten" acted as such a model. It was used in exchange trade in Egypt only in those cases when it was necessary to compensate for the difference that arose in the cost of exchanged goods.
But the price of the goods, as a rule, was measured in accordance with the specified standard. In the temple of the Egyptian god Thoth, an image was found on which there is a taxable list. Opposite to each item, its value is indicated there, which is measured in uteni.
There was another unit of value called “deben”. She related to the value of the item in accordance with its weight.
It should be noted that Egypt had a high level of both internal and external exchange trade, which contributed to its high level of development.
Valuable exchange item
As such, cattle, as a rule, acted. Horses were considered especially popular and valuable, and camels in Islamic countries. In Egypt, grain was highly valued in this regard. There were even grain cans. So the grain could be calculated without resorting to its physical movement. The ancient Greeks created a grain central bank. The Slavs used for a long time not grain, but fur of fur animals or kuna. This is a skin cut into pieces.
How were taxes paid?
The question is how taxes were paid in the absence of a monetary system. For example, in Egypt itself, landowners and peasants donated part of their crops to the treasury, as well as clothing and fabrics made by their wives and daughters. Numerous bureaucracy was wealthy thanks to the kings. In exchange for their services, they received various gifts, which were recorded in their name. They were taxed, and they paid them.
Exchange problems
One of the biggest difficulties associated with the exchange trade was the issue of valuation of goods. To solve it, the proportions were calculated, for example, how many apples should be given for a dozen eggs. For the most part, it depended on random factors. The proportion could be determined in accordance with the need that existed for a particular tribe in a particular product, and also depended on who the seller was.
But that was not the only problem. For example, many of the products depended on the season. Then the question arose of how to exchange apples for grain, if the potential buyer does not have the opportunity to store this perishable product. In this case, it was necessary to exchange it for something third, which did not depreciate so quickly over time. And then purchase wheat. Thus a triple and a quadruple exchange arose.
For example, someone has apples, and he needed boots. However, the shoemaker refuses apples, but wants to get wheat. Then you need to find a buyer who has wheat and who needs apples, and then exchange the wheat for boots. The most profitable product was cattle, as it was not a perishable item. However, animals need to be fed ... Such a difficult thing - exchange trade.
Go to the money
Gradually, commodity money was losing its relevance. For products began to exchange, for example, sperm whale teeth, shells, beads, tobacco. But we can talk about the origin of money, starting with the spread of metal. Initially exchanged nails, rings, arrowheads, utensils made of metal. Later, ingots having a variety of forms came into use. They became analogues of coins.
In Italy, in the sanctuary of Apollo, during excavations, almost 300 kg of such ingots were found. They were sacrificed to God to be healed of ailments. Thus, coins appeared, which, of course, were more convenient.
However, it would be a mistake to believe that exchange in kind is an attribute of the distant past and is an indicator of undeveloped economic relations. It should be noted that he was very popular in our country in the first time after the collapse of the Soviet Union under the name "barter". This was due to difficulties encountered in the sphere of monetary circulation.