1. Money Through the Ages
SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

2. Contents
 What is money?
 Bartering
 Development of money
 Money around the world
 Exchanging currency
 Electronic money
 The future of money

3. What is Money?
 Bills and coins
 Used to exchange for goods or services, or to pay a
debt
Question: What did people use in the early days before
money was invented?

4. Before money was invented, people used…
Bartering

5. Funny Money
 Cowry (shell of a sea snail): Africa, China, India and
North America
 Salt: early Romans
 Gold and silver rings: ancient Egyptians
 Rings and jewelry: tribes in the Celtic regions of
Europe
 Donut shaped stones: Yap islanders of the Pacific

6. Gold and Silver Coins
 The first coins were minted around 600 B.C. in
ancient Lydia.
 Made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver.
 Stamped with a lion’s head.
 Gold and silver are worth more than the face value of
the coin.

7. Assignment
 Ancient Greeks: first to look at coins as a form of art.
 Explore coins from around the world.

8. Representative Money
 Money itself was worth nothing!
 The government promised to back
up the money or exchange it for
silver or gold.
 Representative money was used in
the US from the late 19th to the
early 20th century.
 Gold and silver certificates were
official currency in the US for a
time.

9. Fiat Money
 Money that is not backed by gold or other metals.
 Fiat ~ from the Latin for let it be done.
 It’s worth nothing but accepted because the
government declares it official money.
 The government needs more money than they have.

10. Money Around the World
 Task: Explore money around the world.
 Popular currencies: US$, Euro.

11. Exchanging Currency
 Why?
 Purpose: To help you trade in your money for the
right amount of foreign currency.
 Task: Currency conversion

12. Electronic Money
 Discuss various examples.
 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using
electronic money.

13. References
 Clifford, T. (2009). Money through the ages. Vero
Beach, FL: Rourke Publishing LLC.
 http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/economy.mone
y.htm
 http://library.thinkquest.org/C004203/economic01.
htm
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/moolah/history.ht
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