Interesting Facts About The World’s Ancient Money

Money has been such a huge part of people’s lives for thousands of years now, but it wasn’t always like what we currently have, in fact, they’re way too different. People didn’t start buying things with a peace of paper with someone’s face on it. So if you ever get a chance to go back in time and pay for certain products with your bank notes, people might tear it apart, because they certainly wouldn’t accept a peace of paper for payment. So here are some of the things that you didn’t know about the ancient money.

HOW DOES BARTER WORK?

Barter is where people would trade whatever products they have for a product that they don’t have. For instance, you have loaves of bread and you need some fruits, in order for you to have some fruits, you have to exchange some of your bread for you to have some fruits.

MONEY DURING THE ANCIENT TIMES

People eventually realized that there are certain things that cost more and putting a price on barter was pretty difficult that is why different forms of money have been created.

Egyptians

• The ancient people of Egypt chose to use rings as money. These rings were actually made of gold, bronze, or copper. During these years, people love to wear their wealth that is why in history portraits, people are often seen with different sizes of rings, and when they need to pay for anything, they will just get a ring off of their bodies.

Aztec

• If the Egyptians used gold rings, the Aztecs used golden dolls as a form of money.

Celts

• In ancient Ireland, they used accessories like bracelets and earrings as a form of money, and just like the Egyptians, they also prefer to wear their own money.

RULES WHEN CHOOSING ITEMS TO USE AS MONEY

It can be a little difficult to buy certain things if you have a different type of money, that is why people realized that even though anything can be used as a form of money, there has to be a rule that must be followed.

– The form of money must be easy to carry.
– The form of money that must be accepted by others.
– The form of money has to have an assigned value or worth.
– The form of money must be made from a strong material and it must be something that can be passed on from person to person.

ANCIENT COINS

Greece

2,500 years ago, the idea of metal coinage spread and several places in Greece had developed their own coins. Every Greek city had banks wherein the visiting traders could actually exchange their coins for Greek coins. These Greek coins can be used if you want to buy something in the Greek market. However, these Greek coins weren’t just for buying, it was also believed that these coins have magical powers because the coins have the designs of their gods and goddesses, which makes them the first people to have pictures of money and this was around the time of Alexander the Great in 325 BCE.

Turkey

The ancient people of Turkey were the first ones who got the idea of coins being used as a form of money. Each coin has a stamped amount in it to avoid confusion. These coins were made of gold and silver with a round and flat, they were indeed easy to carry and can even be decorated. The people from the kingdom of Lydia are the ones who came up with the idea of coins.

Rome

The idea of coins as money was indeed very clever that is why they copied it. They even copied the idea of the Greeks where they put the faces of their own gods and goddesses on the coins. However, they are the ones who started adding other designs like symbols such as stars and eagles.

China

Chinese people, however, had a unique type of coins. Their coins had holes in the middle, the reason for this is for them to be able to keep hold of their money and carry it wherever they go since they string the coins together.

However, the Chinese are also the ones who started the idea of having paper as money instead of just coins, simply because it is lightweight and can be decorated easily compared to coins.

These fascinating facts give us the important and rich history of money all over the world. One thing’s for sure — every person on this planet need some form of money to survive. Thanks to its origins, we are now enjoying commerce and trade with the invention of money.