Money Past and Present. Essay -- History Trade Economics Papers

Money Past and Present. Money as a medium of exchange in barter and trade has always in all times found expression in some form or other from necessity thereof. In the remotest periods, before gold or silver were generally in use, it took the form of animals, oxen, sheep, lambs, shells, etc. Thus we find used cattle in Germany, leather in Rome, sugar in the West Indies, shells in Siam, lead in Burmah, platinum in Russia, tin in Great Britain, iron and nails in Scotland, brass in China, and finally copper, silver and gold the world over. If we look up the sacred writings in quest of the earliest use of money quoted therein, we will find that the Bible mentions gold as a medium of value in the very first book of Moses which according to modern synchronology, would be about 4,000 years before the time of Christ, or almost 6,000 years ago. Namely, Genesis, Chapter II, 10, 11, 12. And a river went out of Eden, and the land of Haviliah, where there is gold and the gold of that land is good. Hence Adam and Eve could have found gold in Haviliah just the same as we do in the Yukon today. Immediately thereafter brass and iron are mentioned, Genesis, Chapter IV, 22. And Zillah she bare Tubal-Cain an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron. Tubal-Cain, son of Iamech, a descendant of Cain, apparently was the first man to shape metals into articles of use and probably our very first goldsmith and jeweler. Silver is first mentioned in the Bible in the time of Abram, Genesis, Chapter XIII, 2, Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver and gold. The earliest mention of the word money occurs in Genesis, Chapter XVII, 12, 13, 23, He that is born in the house or bought with money. The first use of earrings and bracelets appears in Genesi... ...uctions are from photographs of the original coins and are fully explained as to their metal, denomination, country, etc., by the description printed with each plate. This, then, is the story of money -- how it came to be -- what it is today. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Bressett, K.1991. Collectible American Coins. Publication International, Ltd., Lincolnwood, IL. Genesis, 1971. Ch. II, 10, 11, 13; Ch. XXIV, 22, 30; Ch. IV, 22; Ch. XIII, 2, Ch. VII, 22, in The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version. Teaneck, NJ: Collins/Cokesbury. Mehl, M, 2004. A History Of Money. The Star Rare Coin Encyclopedia and Premium Catalog. The Numismatic Company of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas. Seidler, N., 1965. The Story of Money. Western Publishing Company, INC., USA. Yeoman, R., 2003. A Guide Book of US Coins. Whitman Publishing, LLC., Atlanta, GA. http://www.mfa.org/handbook/classic