Cultural history of money

The invention of money took place before the beginning of written history

Consequently any story of how money first developed is largely based on conjecture and logical inference

The significant evidence establishes many things were bartered in ancient markets that could be described as a medium of exchange

Keep reading for a short history of currency

Some of the earliest currencies were objects from nature

A notable example is cowrie shells, first used as money about 1200 BCE

Although they may seem a pretty random choice, the shells had a number of advantages: they were similar in size, small, and durable

Minting occurred in the late 7th century BC amongst the Greek cities of Asia Minor, spreading to the Greek islands of the Aegean and to the south of Italy by 500 BC

The first stamped money (having the mark of some authority in the form of a picture or words) can be seen in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris