The World History of Money

Europe

2500 BC – The earliest records of payments were written in cuneiform on clay tablets.

Pre-Roman Britain – The Britons used gold torcs before they started to use their own coins. This is a picture of a fancy gold torc.

Roman Times – Coins have been found on the trading route called the silk road from Rome to China. Romans used to barter with these countries below:

~From Britain: Hunting dogs, woolen cloaks, silver, lead

~From Spain: Fish sauce, wine, olive oil, cloth

~From Egypt: Papyrus, corn

~From Gaul (France): Wine, pottery

~From Greece: Wine, marble, purple dye

~From the East and China: Silks, spices, perfumes, jewels

650 BC – This is a Lydian coin that was made in 650 BC. It was one of the earliest coins.

336 BC – Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire within eight years after he became king. Alexander's face was on his own coins, called silver tetradrachmas.

44 BC – Julius Caesar was the commander of the roman legions and dictator for life. Some coins of this time illustrate the major events in Caesar's life.

632 – The first Islamic coins were struck in the late seventh century. Islam has a prohibition against human images on their coins so instead Islamic coins bore quotes from the Koran.

700 – In the eighth century, Anglo-Saxon kings began striking silver coins, also known as pennies.

1095 – There was a crusade against the Islamic states that controlled the Holy Land. Crusader coins closely imitate Islamic issues.

1500 – Queen Elizabeth introduced Britain's first machine-made coins.


1914 – The British government made these treasury notes to replace coins in 1914.

2000 – Europe came up with a currency that all of the countries in the European Union can use. It is called the Euro.

Present – Most of Europe is currently using the Euro and digital money.

Future – I think that there is going to be digital money in the forms of bytes, and it will be the important new currency of the future.