Origins of the currency

Systems of interchange before the appearance of the currency

If the currency does not appear until half-full of century VII BC, how were made the interchanges previously? We can synthesizediverse phases in three points: 1) exchange; 2) natural currency, and 3) metal instrument.The currency is a relatively recent invention that has simplified very many the life of the towns, but we do not have to think, accustomedas we are to its irreplaceable use, that the civilization did not exist before outside introduced east instrument. How it is possible to take aend a commercial transaction without having or that it measured the value of other or? Again it is Herodoto that explains the modalities to us of the exchange: the possessors of certain merchandize disembarked in a port,they unloaded his goods and soon they retired to demonstrate that they went in are of peace. The natural ones of the place appeared and showed that ofwhat they arranged and that they wished to interchange, retiring as well. The first merchants disembarked again and considered the supply:if it seemed to them suitable, accepted the change; on the contrary, they in this way retired part of his goods, doing a supply in his opinionmore equitable. This type of interchange could be applied only to the international traffic and accustomed towns practiced to travel, like Phoenicians, Greekand Carthaginians. But this class of relations did not make agile nor stimulated the private commerce. Since the social structures were of subsistence and specialization in the work did not exist, the small groups could live withcertain self-sufficiency; but when the men organized their own functions and they dedicated themselves to a single activity, the problem ofinterchange was let feel like something burdens and decisive: the metallurgical one had many tools, but it needed the dresses the weaver andthe flour of the miller, which as well, to live and to work, had to procure the merchandize of the other craftsmen.

The natural currency

The division of the work, the birth of the agrarian economies and the progressive sedentarismo of the towns made urgent more and morenecessity of a system of valid and simple commerce. Thus, then, an average one looked for accepted by all, in order to divide the interchange intwo times and power to lighten the traffic. One was to choose a product of been suitable value, obtaining in this way a species of scalecomparative ". This merchandize-it shows, call natural currency, could extraordinarily be varied, but it had to fulfill two requirements, necessary stopsto develop its function of intermediate good: to unite utility and convenience, and abundant but at the same time to be appraised. The natural currencyit followed in use in recent times: until century XIX, in Iceland the cost of all merchandize settled down in dry fish, and Alaska, inbeaver skins. Between the primitive towns, still in our days we found as diverse currencies as strange: mats braided inNew Hébridas, seeds of cacao in Mexico, rice in India and the caurí or shell of molusco (the moneta Cypraea is very well-known), ofample diffusion anywhere in the world. The towns of the antiquity preferred the cattle, that presented/displayed the doubtless advantage to enjoy esteemand, at the same time, of being abundant, in addition to very useful.!>

The discovery of metals

Towards III the millenium BC, we attended the use of the metal as interchange form. The industrial use of this material formanufacture of tools made its multiple qualities evident and the doubtless advantage that would derive from its use like merchandize-type. The metals are unalterable, can be divided maintaining the same characteristics substantial, can be accumulated withoutdeteriorate, are transported of simple way and they do not require maintenance, In addition, they are easily reconocibles by all and is possibleto verify its weight without too many difficulties. By all these reasons, the use of the metal did not take in becoming very common in the interchanges. The most archaic form is the one of ring, likethey testify paintings murals of an Egyptian tomb of the time of Tutmosis III (Tebas, 1484-1450 BC) and findings in the region of the Caucasus. Also in II the millenium BC, the Hebrews used as units of weight kikkar, that is ring, circle. Soon (second half of II the millenium BC) they appeared Aegean copper ingots the cretenses, heavy blocks of rectangular form (weighedbetween 10 and 36 kg and they had a thickness of about 6 cm). These ingots, that approximately circulated until century X BC, have beenin Cyprus, in Eubea, Crete and Sardinia (where the Phoenicians made the stop), and of it we can deduce that they were adopted mainly stopsthe marine interchanges, During the excavations conducted by Schiiemann in lssariik (a hill of noroccidental Turkey where are the rest of the old oneTroy), appeared bars of silver with the mark of the recorded State to striker pin, or the efigie of a divinity: these seals served stopsto still testify the purity of the metal (but not the weight; therefore we cannot consider them currencies properly). Another exceptional finding was the made one by the English Evans, whom, between the ruins of the palace of Cnossos, it gave with silver small ballsand gold pertaining to the delayed minoico period (1600-1400 BC). These drops, were very similar to the future Asian jónicas currencies,but they lacked the seal of the governmental authority.

The phase of the metal-utensil

In century IX BC made its appearance a new system of interchange, regulated by the call metal-utensil. One was toolsthemselves used like money, or of objects that remembered, by its form, the old utensil but that in fact hadacquired a new value. These, currencies " mainly had form of axe or double axe in central Europe, whereas in the areaMediterranean we found currencies utensil in form of rods to roast of domestic use and religious, óbolos calls óbolo is name ofa Greek currency at classic time). Another utensil used like merchandize-type for the interchanges was lebete, a kettle used for the preparation of the meals, butalso for the religious sacrifices. Homero often mentions it and it also remembers in one old inscription found in Beocia,immediately subsequent to La Paz of Antálcidas (year 386 BC), that talks about to dracmas constituted by six bronze rods to roast. Dracma was the name of the current currency in the Mediterranean river basin. As it is seen, every time we came near more, even interminology, to which it will be the birth of the currency itself.