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Researched by Sean K.
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Research Summary
Money
Money is something you get for your work or something you get for your
goods. Money consists of coins and paper bills. Money is used
in every country every day. Money started from barter (a trading system)
used long ago and is still used today.
The First Coins
The first coins were made and found in Ceos, Greece, Lydia, Athens,
Andros, Caria, and Acgina. Some of the first coins that were made in Lydia
were big lumps of eletrum ( a mixture of gold and sliver). The Lydia
coins had a stamped design on the coins to show the value of the coin,
this saved people the trouble of weighing their coins. This inspired
other countries to make their own coins.
Some historians believe that some of the first coins were also
made in ancient China and India. The first mediums of exchange in
China were knives, spades( a digging tool), and other metal tools.
As early as 1100 B.C. China began to use miniature bronze tools, instead
of real tools. After a while tools developed into coins.
Coins today have many of the same features as they did in ancient
times; for example they have a government-approved design stamped on them
like the coins of ancient Lydia.
War Money
Money plays a large part in the preparations for war, since it pays
for the necessary arms and buys the services of mercenaries professional
soldiers who will fight for the country that pays them enough. The hardships
of war have led to the of new forms of money in cities under siege as well
as by governments that have run out of money. The same circumstances have
also brought into circulation unofficial forms of money such as cigarettes.
Too often money provides a reward for success in war in the past soldiers
have frequently recruited on the understanding that they would be paid
from the booty (stuff you get from trophies) captured from the enemy.
First Banknotes
Banknotes are pieces of paper that have a certain value as money, usually
the higher denominations (a value of a certain bill or coin).
It was the Chinese who first thought of the paper money we see today,
not the design necessarily but the whole idea.
During the 10th century, the Chinese government issued heavy iron coins
that had little value. People from China started to leave their coins with
merchants and began to use handwritten receipts the merchants gave them
instead.
In early 11th century the Chinese government copied the merchants but
the only difference was that the receipts that the government printed were
real money, not just money the people got from merchants in the cities
of China.
There were also many different kinds of early paper money that came
after the Chinese paper money first appeared. For example the English
Money Order, Italian Papal Note, French Royal Banknote, New Jersey "Bill",
and Swedish Banknote.
How Money Developed
People in ancient times did not have any system of money, as
we know it today. Ancient people used barter (a system of trading
which can take very long) for the things they really wanted. Eventually
people learned that most merchants would except certain goods for almost
anything. Some of these goods were animal hides, cattle, cloth, salt
and articles of sliver and gold. People began to use such things
as mediums of exchange, as much as we use money. Many people still
use barter, especially in the developing countries of Africa, Asia and
Latin America. Millions of people in those countries barely produce
enough food even for their needs so they barely have any money, so they
almost always turn to barter to poses the things they want. People
in industrial countries almost never have to turn to barter except when
money is scarce or worthless.
Weird Money
Some ancient people used money so strange that you would even be scared.
Some ancient money was made of shells, metal, stone, feathers, salt, and
beads. Some of theses kinds of ancient money are Wampum made of beads,
CowrieShells, Nigerian Copper Manilla, and Feather Money, Ethiopian Salt
Bar, Stone Money, Sudanese Money Hoc, and the Mexican Money Axe.
American Colonial Money
In the American Colonies money was scarce, paper money was very over
used, and the British would not let the colonies mint coins. As a
result the colonists used any foreign coins they could get. The Indian
wampum and other goods also circulated as money. The oak-tree shilling
was one of the first coins made in Massachusetts, That colony began to
issue coins. The escudo was used throughout the Americas the eight-
escudo coin was minted in the reign of King Ferdinand VI of Spain.
Types of Money
There are many types of money such as checks, cards, bills, coins,
and money orders, these types of money are used all over the world.
There are many different kinds of checks such as traveler’s check, money
order, and the normal check. Checks have mostly been replaced with
high-tech computer chips in various cards. Cards consist of bankcard s,
telephone cards, and charge cards. Bankcards can be used to guarantee
checks to draw money from a cash dispensing machine ant make payments of
purchases. Credit companies and stores issue charge cards, the store
records a transaction and the intention of the cardholder to pay the bill
has to be paid later with cash or a check. Stores issue some charge
cards so that their customers don’t have to carry so much money in their
pockets. Telephone cards are cards that represent money already been
paid. The value of the card is determined each time the card is used
to make a call from a public telephone.
Foreign Money
There are many different types of foreign money, which are all made
out of metal. The many types of foreign money consists of the Mexican Peso,
Canadian Dollar, British Pound, German Mark, France Frank, Belgian Franc,
Japanese Yen, Chinese Sen, Korean Won, Indian Rupees, and Brazilian Escudoes.
The exchange rates for foreign monies and American money change
every day. The rates are posted in newspapers, banks, and money exchange
offices.
Forgeries and Fakes
One of the methods used to prevent forged paper money
is the use of complicated designs. In addition, special hard to obtain
paper, watermarks, and special inks are used. The United States Treasury
also puts special symbols in particular places on the bills. For example,
on the new five-dollar bill, the names of the states are printed at the
top of the building, which is on the back of the bill.
There are various methods used to detect fake coins. One method
which was used to determine if a coin was pure gold or merely plated. If
the coin was fake, the gold paint or plating would rub off on the
stone. Another method was the use of scales to weigh the coins to
determine if they were real gold or silver. Cutting into the coin also
checked coins with a certain type of knife to see if the coin was real.
Crimes Involving Money
There are many different types of crimes, which involve money.
These include embezzlement, bunco schemes, check kiting,
laundering money earned from illegal activities,
robbery, and fraud. Embezzlement is where an employee
steals money from their employer. Fraud is where a criminal
prints fake dollar bills that look like the real thing. Money laundering
is where criminals take funds earned from illegal activities such
as drug dealing, and invest that money in legitimate businesses. Check
kiting is where a person gets more than one bank account at
different banks and writes checks when there is no money
in the accounts. Bunco schemes are where a person sells things that don't
exist or fools people.
Financial/Economic Careers
There are many possible careers which involve working with money.
They include bank careers, accounting, economics, careers in the
stock or financial markets, and financial careers. Bank careers include
tellers, sales managers, bank managers, and loan officers. Accounting careers
include working as a Certified Public Accountant, working as a financial
officer for a business or government agency, or as an accounting
teacher. Careers in economics include forecasting the economy for
businesses or government agencies or teaching.
Future Of Money
I think the future of money is going in the direction of credit
cards and checks. Mainly credit cards because computers are getting
more advance and there are little computer chips in credit cards and then
credit cards get more advance. I think in a hundred years there wont
even be checks, coins, and bills. Some of the most advance credit
cards are called Smart Cards and many of these has come out in prospering
countries such as France, Japan, and the U.S.A. Smart cards have
a lot more advanced computer chip in the card.
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