Did you know?
…That if your money is mutilated if you can account for 51% of your bill the Standards in Washington, D.C. will gladly replace your money?
Early Currencies
Barter
The original type of trade created is now known as barter. Barter is the exchange of goods or services for another person's goods or service. Barter is a type of medium exchange. The problem with barter was that sometimes people did not always want to trade for the items offered, which sometimes started disagreements. Some of the other problems with barter were they were not sure how much an item was worth. Is a cow worth two of three chickens? Barter is still used today but instead we use banknotes and coins.
Lydia, Turkey
The first coin was introduced in Lydia, Turkey around 650 to 600 B.C. These coins were made of electrum, an alloy of gold. Lumps of electrum were found in the near by mountains and streams. It had a weight of about 4.76 grams with a lion head on it, the king’s symbol. Today these coins are worth between 1,000 to 2,000 dollars not because they are rare but the history behind the coins. Though the kingdom of Lydia ended in 546 B.C., it still had an important role in our economy today.
Native American
There are many different tribes with many different types of money. On the other hand, the many tribes in the northeast used the same type of currency. The money was called wampum and was made of stringed shell beads. In 1637, Massachusetts Bay colony declared wampum as their legal tenders. Also, there currency was not only spent, they made things with them like belts but, also belts of wampum were not produced until after European contact. A typically large belt would be six feet long and might contain six thousand beads. The Native Americans had an interesting way of their use of currency in this area, it is easy to find, go to a beach, and find shells, and that is there money.
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