I FIRST STARTED COLLECTING COINS IN 1960 WHEN I SAW MY BROTHER-IN-LAW PUTTING PENNIES IN A COIN ALBUM. WHEN I TOLD HIM I THOUGHT THAT WAS KID STUFF, HE CHALLENGED ME TO COMPLETE AN ALBUM. SO, AFTER A QUICK TRIP TO THE BANK AND ARMED WITH A 50 DOLLAR BAG OF CENTS I BEGAN AND VERY QUICKLY LEARNED JUST HOW DIFFICULT IT CAN BE TO COMPLETE A SET. HIS CHALLENGE SOON MADE ME AN AVID NUMISMATIST.
HOWEVER, COLLECTING COINS AND PAPER MONEY IS MORE THAN FILLING HOLES IN AN ALBUM. HOLD UP A COIN TO THE AUDIENCE. EACH PIECE OF MONEY HAS A STORY TO TELL. MONEY. IT IS HISTORY YOU CAN HOLD IN YOUR HANDS. I FIND MYSELF WONDERING ABOUT THE EVENTS OF THE TIME, AND THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELD THAT COIN OVER THE YEARS.
MONEY. WE HAVE CALLED IT SHEKELS AND SHILLINGS, POUNDS AND PENSE, PIECES OF EIGHT, DOLLARS, DINERO, LUCRE, DOUGH, CASH, COIN OF THE REALM, GRAVY, BUCKS, BREAD, LETTUCE, BANKNOTES AND BILLS, MOULAGH, MONEY.
MONEY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT IT. IT HAS BEEN AROUND IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER FOR NEARLY 3000 YEARS. EVERY COUNTRY HAS ITS OWN, BUT WHAT, EXACTLY, IS MONEY.
MONEY CAN BE MANY THINGS…WE KNOW IT IS COINS AND CURRENCY; CREDIT CARDS AND CHECKS; BUT IN SOME CULTURES, IT HAS BEEN STONES, FEATHERS, SALT, BEADS AND TOBACCO, AND SADLY EVEN PEOPLE. BASICALLY, MONEY IS ANYTHING THAT PEOPLE WILL ACCEPT FOR GOODS OR SERVICES, AND THAT CAN CIRCULATE: THAT IS, PASS FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER MANY TIMES WITHOUT LOSING ITS VALUE. THE AMERICAN INDIANS USED BEADS CALLED WAMPUM AS MONEY, HOWEVER, AN AMERICAN FARMER OF TODAY WOULD NOT SELL HIS CORN FOR WAMPUM, BUT THEN NEITHER WOULD AN INDIAN FARMER HAVE SOLD HIS CORN FOR A PRINTED PIECE OF PAPER. WHAT MAKES A PARTICULAR ARTICLE MONEY IS THE FACT THAT THE PEOPLE LIVING IN A COMMUNITY ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT IT AS PAYMENT.
WHAT IS MONEY? WHAT ARE ITS USES? THE QUICK ANSWER, MONEY IS A MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE. IT IS A STORE OF VALUE. IT IS A STATUE SYMBOL. MONEY HAS RELIGIOUS, CEREMONIAL, AND POLITICAL FUNCTIONS. MONEY HAS COUNTLESS OTHER, VARIED AND ABSTRACT DEFINITIONS. MONEY ALSO HAS ABOUT IT AN AURA OF MYSTERY AND INTRIGUE. COINS HAVE HAD A SPECIAL PLACE IN MANDKINDS’ LIFE. THE KEY TO RICHES AND THE ENJOYMENT OF LIFE, COINS OFTEN INFLUENCED THE FATE OF RULERS AND NATIONS, ASSURED VICTORIES, AND FORTIFIED THE POWER OR KINGS.
PIRATES FOUGHT AND DIED FOR GOLD DUBLOONS AND SILVER PIECES OF EIGHT. IT IS SAID THAT GEORGE WASHINGTON THREW A SILVER DOLLAR ACROSS THE POTOMAC RIVER. ALTHOUGH IF THE EVENT REALLY HAPPENED THE COIN WAS PROBABLY A SPANISH PILLAR DOLLAR BETTER KNOWN AS A PIECE OF EIGHT.
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I PURCHASED A GERMAN "THALER" DATED 1538 BECAUSE IT WAS THE EARLIEST DATED COIN I HAD SEEN UP UNTIL THEN. INCIDENTALLY, THALER IS WHERE WE GET THE WORD DOLLAR. BUT THIS COIN MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE STARTED MY RESEARCH INTO THE HISTORY OF MONEY. QUESTIONS CAME TO ME SUCH AS WHEN DID WE START DATING COINS AND WHERE AND WHEN WAS MONEY INVENTED?
TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF WHEN, WHERE AND WHY MONEY WAS INVENTED WE HAVE TO GO WAY BACK AND START WITH MANKIND’S OLDEST FORM OF COMMERCE.
BARTER, THE DIRECT EXCHANGE OF GOODS, IS THE OLDEST FORM OF TRADE; IT EXISTED LONG BEFORE THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS OF ANCIENT TIMES AROSE. IT HAS CONTINUED THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY OR REAPPEARED AGAIN AND AGAIN WHENEVER MORE ADVANCED EXCHANGE SYSTEMS COLLAPSED DUE TO WAR, FAMINE, OR POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. IN EARLY SOCIETIES, CATTLE OR SHEEP WERE THE MOST COMMONLY BARTERED GOODS. THE DIFFICULTY WITH BARTER WAS THAT IT WAS NOT ALWAYS CONVENIENT. SUPPOSE THE FISHERMAN WANTS CORN, BUT THE FARMER DOES NOT WANT FISH. THE FISHERMAN MUST FIND SOMEONE WHO WANTS FISH AND WHO IS WILLING TO TRADE SOMETHING THAT THE FARMER WANTS. HE MAY HAVE TO TRADE SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE HE CAN GET HIS CORN, BUT WHEN THERE IS ONE THING THAT EVERYONE WANTS…MONEY…NO ONE HAS TO TRADE MORE THAN ONCE. MONEY ALSO MADE POSSIBLE SAVINGS. A FISHERMAN CANNOT WAIT TO TRADE HIS FISH, EVEN IF THERE IS NOTHING HE WANTS AT THE MOMENT. THE FISH WOULD SPOIL. MONEY, WHICH DOES NOT SPOIL, CAN BE SAVED UNTIL THERE IS USE FOR IT. THE CONCEPT OF A COMMODITY THAT PEOPLE WOULD ACCEPT IN LIEU OF DIRECT BARTER EVOLVED SLOWLY OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME IN VARIOUS CULTURES.
MONEY ALLOWS US TO SPLIT THE BARTERING PROCESS INTO TWO PARTS. FIRST, YOU LOCATE A PERSON WHO WANTS YOUR GOODS OR SERVICES AND TRADES YOU HIS MONEY. THEN YOU LOCATE SOMEONE WHO HAS THE GOODS OR SERVICES THAT YOU WANT AND ACCEPTS YOUR "MONEY" IN TRADE.
IN EARLY SOCIETIES, CATTLE OR SHEEP WERE THE MOST COMMONLY BARTERED GOODS REPRESENTING WEALTH. THE MODERN BANKER’S TERM "PECUNIARY" HAS ITS ORIGIN IN THE LATING WORDS PECUNIA AND PECUS (CATTLE). THE INDIAN COIN DENOMINATION RUPEE TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE SANSCRIT WORD "RUPA" (CATTLE).
FARM PRODUCE, SUCH AS WHEAT AND BARLY, WAS ALSO WIDELY USED AS CURRENCY IN THE PAST. IN BABYLON, BARLY DETERMINED THE BASIC UNIT OF WEIGHT, THE SHEKEL. IT WAS EQUAL TO 180 GRAINS OF BARLY. INCIDENTALLY, THE USE OF THE TERMS SHEKEL AND TALENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT OF THE BIBLE REFERRED TO A WEIGHT OF GOLD OR SILVER BULLION AND NOT TO COINS. IT WASN’T UNTIL THE INVENTION OF COINS THAT THE TERMS WERE APPLIED TO COINS. AN EXAMPLE IS IN THE BOOK OF KINGS WHERE SOLOMAN IMPORTED A CHARIOT FROM EGYPT FOR SIX HUNDRED SHEKELS’ WEIGHT OF SILVER. AS I MENTIONED, A SHEKEL WAS EQUAL TO 180 GRAINS OF BARLY OR ABOUT A HALF OUNCE. THE OTHER WEIGHT MENTIONED WAS THE TALENT. IT REQUIRED 3000 SHEKELS TO EQUAL ONE TALENT, JUST UNDER 100 LBS.
ANCIENT EGYPT HAD GOVERNMENT GRAIN BANKS WHERE GRAIN WAS STORED, EXCHANGED AND TRANSFERRED. IN BRIEF, THE COMMODITY WAS MANIPULATED MUCH AS MONEY IS TODAY. I AM SURE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY OF JOSEPH.
OTHER UNUSUAL STAPLE GOODS ACCEPTED AS CURRENCY INCLUDED TEA, ALMONDS, SUGAR, BUTTER, SALT AND RUM. THE LIST MAKES ME WONDER HOW MUCH
RESTRAINT PEOPLE EXERCISED IN ORDER NOT TO LITERALLY EAT OR DRINK UP THEIR ENTIRE FORTUNE.
SALT LEFT A PERMANENT RECORD. THE WORD, SALARY, FROM THE LATIN SALARIUM, INDICATING THE ALLOWANCE IN SALT GIVEN TO MILITARY PERSONNEL MARCO POLO TELLS HOW IN CHINA, SALT WAS PRESSED INTO CAKES WHICH WERE STAMPED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND CIRCULATED AT A VALUE OF 40 SALT BARS TO ONE GOLD BAR (REMINDS ME OF THE EXPERSSION " YOU’RE WORTH YOUR WEIGHT IN SALT.") IN MONGOLIA THE MONGOLS WOULD ACCEPT ANIMAL SKINS AS PAYMENTS.
CHINA ONCE USED WHAT IS CALLED A TEA BRICK. THE TEA WAS STEAMED AND PRESSED INTO BRICKS. THEY WERE SCORED TO MAKE IT EASY TO CUT INTO SMALL UNITS JUST AS WE MAKE CHANGE FOR A DOLLAR AND IF YOU ARE THIRSTY YOU CAN SCRAPE SOME TEA OFF THE BRICK TO BREW SOME BEVERAGE.
IN THE SOLOMAN ISLANDS, 10 STRINGS OF COWRIE SHELLS COULD BUY A WIFE OR A GIRL OF HIGH STANDING. ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN CURRENCIES IN THE PACIFIC AREA IS THE STONE MONEY OF YAP. IT HAS BEEN ILLEGAL TO REMOVE THE STONES FROM THE ISLAND SINCE 1968, MOST STONES ARE IN MUSEUMS WITH LESS THAN 60 PIECES IN PRIVATE HANDS IN ALL OF NORTH AMERICA.
TIBET ONCE HAD WHAT IS CALLED "SKULL MONEY". THE MONKS THERE CARVE YAK BONE INTO THESE SKULL SHAPES, STRING THEM TOGETHER AND USE THEM THE SAME WAY WE USE OUR MONEY. ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST- KNOWN PRIMITIVE MONEYS IS THE AFRICAN "KISSIE PENNY". USED IN THE SIERRA LEONE REGION BY VARIOUS TRIVES INCLUDING THE MANDINGO (KUNTE KENTA’S TRIBE FROM THE BOOK, ROOTS, BY ALEX HALEY.) THEY WERE MADE IN THIS INTERESTING SHAPE TO PREVENT UNSCRUPULOUS PEOPLE FROM SHAVING OFF METAL, FOR THE SAME REASON OUR COINS HAVE MILLED RIMS. ACCORDING TO MY RESEARCH, 400 BOUGHT A SLAVE, 200 A COW, AND 300 A VIRGIN BRIDE (AND BEFORE YOU ASK, I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH IF SHE WERE NOT A VIRGIN.) KISSIE PENNIES WERE LEGAL TENDER IN SIERRA LEONE UNTIL 1937 WHEN THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED IT WOULD NO LONGER ACCEPT THE KISSIES AS PAYMENT OF TAX.
IT IS A COMMONLY MENTIONED IN COLONIAL HISTORY THAT MANHATTEN ISLAND WAS BOUGHT FOR SOME BEADS OR TRADING TOOK PLACE WITH THE INDIANS USING WAMPUM. AND SINCE THERE WERE NO IRON MINES, OR OTHER MANUFACTURING IN THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS OF THE NEW WORLD, A VARIETY OF THINGS WERE USED FOR MONEY, SUCH AS TEA, TOBACCO, NAILS, GLASS AND EVEN MUSKET BALLS.
IN ORDER FOR A CERTAIN MATERIAL TO BE USED AS MONEY, IT MUST HAVE CERTAIN QUALITIES. IT MUST BE DURABLE SO THAT IT DOES NOT WEAR OUT. IT MUST BE ABLE TO BE CARRIED WITHOUT TOO MUCH TROUBLE. IT MUST BE ABLE TO BE DIVIDED INTO SMALLER UNITS IN CASE OF GOODS OF DIFFERENT VALUES ARE TRADED. IT MUST HAVE A STEADY VALUE SO THAT PEOPLE WILL KNOW FROM ONE DAY OR MONTH TO THE NEXT JUST WHAT THEIR GOODS ARE WORTH IN TERMS OF MONEY. NOT ALL THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN USED AS MONEY HAD ALL OF THESE QUALITIES, WHICH IS WHY SOME OF THEM WERE ABANDONED. STONE WAS TOO HEAVY TO CARRY ABOUT. BEADS TENDED TO GET BROKEN. CATTLE AND SHEEP MIGHT DIE. IN TIME IT WAS FOUND THAT THE BEST MATERIAL FOR MONEY WAS METAL. IN THE BEGINNING MANY METALS WERE USED AS MONEY, BUT GRADUALLY GOLD AND SILVER BECAME THE MOST USED METALS, ALTHOUGH SOME SMALL COINS ARE MADE OF COPPER, NICKEL, TIN, AND OTHER METALS. THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS OF WHEN AND WHERE MONEY WAS INVENTED IS PRETTY CLEAR. UNFORTUNATELY, HISTORY DOES NOT RECORD THE NAME OF WHO INVENTED IT. HOWEVER, WE DO KNOW THAT THE CONCEPT OF MONEY AS WE UNDERSTAND AND
USE IT AROSE INDEPENDENTLY IN BOTH CHINA AND WESTERN TURKEY ABOUT 700 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST.
IN CHINA, THE VERY FIRST ITEMS USED AS A STANDARD GOVERNMENT-ISSUED MONEY WERE CARVED COWRIE SHELLS. AFTER SOME PERIOD OF TIME, THEY MADE ARTIFICIAL COWRIE SHELLS FROM BONE AND FINALLY THEY MADE CAST BRONZE SHELLS. SHOW THE SHELLS. THESE ARE AUTHENTIC SHELLS FROM CHINA AND ARE VERY FRAGILE SO I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD NOT HANDLE THEM WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DISPLAY AFTER WE FINISH.
FROM THIS SIMPLE BEGINNING, THE CHINESE-MADE MINIATURE VERSIONS OF TOOLS OR OBJECTS. THEY COMMONLY HAVE THE SULLER’S SYMBOL ON THEM AS EVIDENCE OF STANDARD VALUES SET BY THE KING, KAHN, OR EMPEROR. FROM THAT WE CAN DATE THEIR MONEY TO SOME DEGREE.
FOR EXAMPLE "SHIRT M0NEY" WAS MADE BETWEEN 14 AND 29 A.D. DURING THE SHORT REIGN OF THE EMPEROR WANG MANG. A PIECE I OWN IS CALLED RAZOR MONEY BECAUSE OF THE SHAPE. IT IS FROM THE CHOW DYNASTY WHICH LASTED SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS FROM ABOUT 500 B. C. TILL 200 B.C. AND THAT IS AS CLOSE AS WE CAN DATE IT.
THE CONCEPT OF MONEY FOR THE WESTERN WORLD CAME AROUND 700 B.C. IN LYDIA IN WHAT IS NOW WESTERN TURKEY. THE VERY FIRST COINS WERE SIMPLE BLOBS OF AN ALLOY OF GOLD AND SILVER CALLED ELECTRUM. THEY WERE FLATTENED ON ONE SIDE WITH A FEW SERRATIONS OR SCRATCH MARKS AND HAD THE KING’S SEAL PUNCHED INTO THE OTHER SIDE AS PROOF OF VALUE. THERE ARE VERY FEW KNOWN SPECIMENS OF THESE VERY FIRST COINS. ONE I OWN WAS FOUND IN A 1932 EXCAVATION OF A TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS IN THE CITY OF EPHESUS. THE SERRATIONS WERE REPLACED BY A DEPICTION OF A LION’S HEAD IN 670 BC AND BY 650 BC, THE COINS DEPICTED THE PORTRAIT OF THE KING’S HEAD. THE CONCEPT OF COINAGE SPREAD RAPIDLY AROUND THE MEDITERRANEAN, AND OUR WESTERN MONEY HAS HAD THE SAME BASIC DESIGN EVERY SINCE. THE ARTISANS WHO DESIGNED THOSE EARLY COINS WERE ARTISTS OF THE HIGHEST CALIBER. THE ARTWORK IS BEAUTIFUL, AND FROM THESE COINS WE KNOW JUST WHAT FAMOUS PEOPLE SUCH AS ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE CAESARS LOOKED LIKE.
I THINK ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING COINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD IS THE ROMAN DENARIUS. THIS SILVER COIN WHICH IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR DIME, WAS THE MOST COMMON ROMAN COIN DURING THE DAYS OF JESUS. IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT WHEN PAUL WRITES, "THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL," HE REALLY SAYS IN GREEK, "THE LOVE OF SILVER IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL." CONSIDERING HOW WE VALUE SILVER TODAY AT $4.40 PER OUNCE, IT IS MISLEADING TO SAY THE DENARIUS IS WORTH A FEW CENTS. THE IMPORTANT THING WAS THE BUYING POWER. IN THE ROMAN WORLD THE DENARIUS REPRESENTED A DAY’S WAGE FOR THE ROMAN SOLDIER AT THE TIME OF CHRIST. IN JESUS’ PARABLE OF THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT, WE READ: "BUT THE SAME SERVANT WENT OUT AND FOUND ONE OF HIS FELLOW-SERVANTS WHO OWED HIM A HUNDRED DENARII." THIS MEANS THE AMOUNT THE MAN OWED WAS NOT A MERE PITTANCE. OF COURSE, IT WAS INSIFNIFICANT COMPARED TO THE 10,000 TALENTS WHICH IS 30,000,000 SHEKELS THAT THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT’S KING HAD FORGIVEN HIM. INCIDENTALLY, WHLE THE DENARIUS WAS A DAY’S WAGE, THE SHEKEL WAS A MONTH’S WAGE. SO THAT 30 MILLION SHEKELS WAS LIKE THE NATIONAL DEBT.
THE 30 PIECES OF SILVER GIVEN TO JUDAS ARE BELIEVED TO BE SHEKELS AND 30 REPRESENTED TWO AND A HALF YEARS’ WAGES TO THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME. WITH THE FALL OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE AROUND 476 A.D. EUROPE COLLAPSED INTO WHAT WE CALL THE DARK AGES AND COMMERCE REVERTED MAINLY TO THE BARTER SYSTEM.
AROUND 1000 A.D., BEGINNING IN ITALY, CIVILIZATION BEGAN TO RE-EMERGE AND WE ENTERED THE MIDDLE AGES WHICH COVERS THE TIME FROM 1000 TO 1400. THIS WAS THE TIME OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, THE CRUSADES, AND BY SOME ACCOUNTS ROBIN HOOD AND MAID MARIAN.
MARCO POLO WAS RIDICULED WHEN HE TOLD ABOUT CHINA’S USE OF PAPER MONEY. HOWEVER, IN 1896 DURING THE BOXER REBELLION SOME BRITISH SOLDIERS OVERTURNED A STATUE OF BUDDHA AND UNDERNEATH WERE 100 PIECES OF PAPER MONEY. THOSE 100 SPECIMENS ARE THE OLDEST KNOW EXAMPLES OF PAPER MONEY IN EXISTANCE TODAY. I HAVE ONE OF THOSE NOTES. THEY ARE APPROXEMITLY 800 TO A 1000 YEARS OLD. ABOUT THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, ANOTHER ADVANCE WAS MADE IN THE WESTERN WORLD. GOLD AND SILVER COINS ARE CONVENIENT FOR EXCHANGES OF SMALL AND MEDIUM VALUES, BUT FOR LARGE EXCHANGES IT WAS VERY CUMBERSOME TO CARRY ABOUT MANY HEAVY COINS TO MAKE PAYMENT. SO PAPER MONEY (FIRST USED IN CHINA OVER A THOUSAND YEARS AGO) WAS RE-INVENTED IN SWEDEN BECAUSE THEIR COINS WERE SIMPLY TOO HEAVY TO CARRY. SWEDEN HAD NO SILVER AND THEREFORE USED COPPER IN ITS COINS, WHICH GOT LARGER AND LARGER TO HAVE EQUAL VALUE WITH OTHER COUNTRIES MONEY. AS A RESULT PAPER MONEY CAME INTO USE IN NEARLY ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD. PAPER MONEY DIFFERS FROM OTHER MONEY BECAUSE IT HAS LITTLE OR NO INTRINSIC VALUE. THE PAPER OF A THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL IS NOT WORTH A PENNY. WHAT GIVES THE BILL ITS VALUE IS THE FACT THAT PRIOR TO 1964, THE GOVERNMENT AGREED TO PAY TO THE OWNER ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR’S-WORTH OF GOLD OR SILVER, OR SOMETHING OF EQUAL VALUE. TODAY PEOPLE ACCEPT A SLIP OF PAPER AS MONEY BECAUSE THEY HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE GOVERNMENT. SPEAKING OF CONFIDENCE, I THINK OF WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN GOVERNMENTS COLLAPSE. FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE READ THAT IN GERMANY AT THE END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, IT TOOK A WHEELBARROW OF MONEY TO BUY A LOAF OF BREAD.
ANOTHER NAME FOR PAPER MONEY IS LEGAL TENDER, WHICH MEANS THAT WHEN ANYONE TENDERS OR OFFERS PAPER MONEY IN PAYMENT OF A DEBT, THE LAW REQUIRES THAT IT BE ACCEPTED. COINS SUCH AS FIFTY CENT PIECES, QUARTERS, NICKELS, AND PENNIES ARE ALSO LEGAL TENDER, BECAUSE THE VALUE OF THE METAL THEY CONTAIN IS NOT AS GREAT AS THE AMOUNT STAMPED ON THE FACE OF THE COIN. DUE TO RISING BULLION PRICES IT NOW COSTS MORE THAN FACE TO MAKE CENTS AND 5 CENT COINS. IN DECEMBER THE GOVT MADE IT ILLEGAL TO MELT THOSE COINS FOR THEIR METAL VALUES, ALSO IT IS NOW ILLEGAL TO TAKE MORE THAN $5 IN COINS OUT OF THE COUNTRY.
THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ISSUED ITS FIRST PAPER CURRENCY IN 1861 TO HELP FINANCE THE CIVIL WAR BECAUSE THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH COINS TO DO THE JOB. PRIOR TO 1861, PRIVATE BANKS HAD ISSUED PAPER MONEY AND MOST CURRENCY WAS PRINTED ONLY ON ONE SIDE. THE NEWLY INVENTED CAMERA DID NOT PROTOGRAPH THE COLOR GREEN VERY WELL, SO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY HAD THE BACKS OF THE COUNTRIES’ FIRST DOLLAR BILLS PRINTED IN GREEN. AS A RESULT WE HAVE THE TERM "GREENBACK" AS A SLANG TERM FOR OUR MONEY. SHOW GREENBACK. OUR CURRENCY SEEMS TO BE PRETTY DULL NOWADAYS, BUT IT WAS NOT ALWAYS SO. OUR EARLY CURRENCY HAS SOME MASTER ART WORK AND IT WAS COMMON TO CHANGE DESIGNS EVERY FEW YEARS. THESE BILLS FROM 1886 ARE KNOWN AS THE EDUCATIONAL SERIES. HOWEVER, THEY DID CAUSE A STORM OF PROTEST FROM SOME SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY BECAUSE THE LADY LIBERTIES ARE BARE BOSOMED. INFACT DUE TO THE EXREME SHORTAGE OF COINS DURING AND AFTER THE CIVIL WAR THE GOVT ISSUED PAPER COINS CALLED FRACTIONAL CURRENCY.
THE MONEY OF A COUNTRY IS MADE AND CONTROLLED BY ITS GOVERNMENT. IT DECIDES WHICH METALS, AND HOW MUCH OF THE METALS, ARE TO BE USED FOR MONEY. THE UNITED STAATES USED TO USE SILVER AND COPPER IN COINS WORTH TEN CENTS OR MORE, NICKEL AND COPPER IN FIVE CENT PIECES, AND BRONZE IN PENNIES. BEFORE 1933 THE UNITED STATES ALSO HAD GOLD COINS IN VARIOUS VALUES, OR DENOMINATIONS, FROM ONE DOLLAR UP TO TWENTY DOLLARS. SHOW MY GOLD SET.
IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS TREATISE, I SAID THAT ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT CAME TO ME WHEN I BOUGHT THE 1538 GERMAN THALLER WAS "WHEN DID WE START DATING COINS?" WELL, EVEN THE EARLIEST COINS OF THE WESTERN WORLD CAN BE DATED WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF ACCURACY BECAUSE OF THE CUSTOM OF HAVING THE KING OR RULLER’S LIKENESS ON THE COIN. NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW EXACTLY WHEN WE STARTED DATING COINS. I HAVE HERE A DINAR FROM FRANCE, DATED 1005. BUT IN GENERAL COIN DATING DID NOT COME INTO GENERAL USE UNTIL THE 1400’S. ISLAMIC COINS WERE, AND STILL ARE, DATED BY THEIR CALENDAR AND PROBABLY BEGAN DATING COINS AROUND THE SAME TIME THE WESTERN WORLD DID.
MONEY. IT’S A WAY OF STUDYING HISTORY, ART AND PAST CIVILAZIATIONS AND EACH COIN IS UNIQUE IN ITS OWN WAY. WHERE HAS IT TRAVELED, WHO MIGHT HAVE HELD IT, WHAT DO THE IMAGES AND WORDS REPRESENT? TO SPAN TIME AND SPACE, TO VIEW FAR OFF PLACES ALL CAPTURED TOGETHER ON A BIT OF METAL.
A MODERN U.S. PENNY HOSTS A REVERSE IMAGE OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, A TRIBUTE TO OUR 16TH PRESIDENT. THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, THE CIVIL WAR, THE GETTYSBERG ADDRESS: ALL THESE IMAGES ARE BROUGHT TO MIND BY THIS COIN FIRST ISSUED IN 1909, 100 YEARS AFTER LINCOLN’S BIRTH. LOOK CLOSER AND YOU CAN SEE THE MOTTO "IN GOD WE TRUST" REFLECTING AMERICA’S DEVOTION, AND "LIBERTY" THE PRINCIPLE UPON WHICH OUR COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED. THERE IS EVEN THE DATE AND MINT MARK TO TELL WHEN AND WHERE THE COIN WAS MADE AND THE INITIALS VDB FOR THE MAN WHO DESIGNED THE COIN, VICTOR DAVIC BRENNER, A FAMOUS ARTIST AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY. ALL THAT ON ONE COIN, AND EVERY COIN HAS A STORY TO TELL.
MONEY: IT IS HISTORY YOU CAN HOLD IN YOUR HANDS.