Coins and Paper Money -> Paper Money: US -> United States Notes
Paper money has a long and varied history that dates back centuries. Although we are used to dealing with paper money on a constant basis it was not too long ago that it wasn’t even used. Let’s take a look at the history of paper money so that you can gain a better appreciation of the money you use today. It’s one of the easiest ways of spending, but it wasn’t always that way.
Originally, paper money was developed by the Chinese, who called it “flying money.” This was due to the fact that the paper used was incredibly frail and light weight. If you didn’t have a good grip on it, it could easily be blown out of your hand by a strong gust of wind, hence the nickname. It can be dated back to around the ninth century, but there are some instances and some evidence that point to paper money being around as early as the eighth century.
Instead of having an actual standard, like today’s money, the first paper money was backed just by your signature and how much you had in the bank. In that way, it was very much like a check that we would use today. This is also where the term bank drafts came into play, even back hundreds of years ago. It wasn’t until many centuries later that a standard was developed in Asia for paper money and at that time, it’s worth was solidified by silk.
Eventually, the use of paper money dwindled, especially during the Ming period in China, when the notes became worth a set amount of money, making them harder to spend, especially on the daily necessities of life. It wasn’t until the middle ages that it would again be put into use, and even then, it took until the late 1800’s for paper money to become standard.
Today, we don’t think twice about whipping out a bill here or there, but in ancient times, paper money was quite rare. There are records of paper money being used in the colonies of the United States, but coins were generally used more and of course, gold and silver were quite common. That is now flipped, with the vast majority of people all over the world using paper instead of coins.
However, the introduction of credit and debit cards has hit the paper money market hard. Fewer people are using it and as a result, we may be going backwards in time a bit. While coin money may never become quite popular again, it is clear that our reliance on paper money is definitely dwindling. This has created quite a market for collectors interested in finding unique notes.
While you may not be able to get your hands on a paper note made in China from the 900’s, you can certainly find European, American and Russian notes that are quite valuable. The best place to find collectible paper money is at a coin shop or at an online auction.
Originally posted 2008-10-05 00:27:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
Starting a State Quarters Collection If you have an interest in coins or coin collecting, but you are not really sure where the place is to get started, why not consider starting your own unique state quarters collection? Collecting coins, especially starting a state quarters collection is a hot topic right now, at least as...... -
Types of Coin Collecting Software Collecting different coins is a truly pleasurable and profitable type of hobby or endeavor. Most people who are novices in collecting encounter problems relating to having too many coins, and therefore they do not have an adequate amount of information about the coins that they have or about the coins...... -
Colonial Money Coins and Paper Money -> Paper Money: US -> Colonial Currency If you are interested in collecting paper money, Colonial money is one of the hottest tickets going right now. When the first US colonies were formed, the nation and its currency system were still in their infancy. It was...... - Military Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Coins US -> Coins - World Whether you were once in the military, or you are a collector all of things militaria, military coins are a great and valuable item to start amassing. There are many different kinds of military coins that are currently available......
- Palladium Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Bullion -> Platinum and Palladium Palladium coins are extremely rare and they are one of the most valuable types of money that you can collect. If you have never heard of palladium before, or if you are curious as to what these coins are, there......
Related Websites -
How To Prepare Yourself For High Inflation If You Don't Have Any Money or Investments It's one thing to buy gold and invest in BRIC ETFs to help protect your assets from double-digit inflation or hyperinflation expectations, but what if you don't have that many assets to invest? What if you don't really have any extra money at all? What should you do to...... -
Take Action To Avoid Paying Extra Fees Over the years consumers have become accustomed to paying various fees for purchases, products and services. It has become so routine in fact that many people do not even think twice about the added cost of various fees when they are added to the end price. While fees have become a...... - Smart Gambling Every once in awhile a new site will pop up and add to Lazy Man and Money from their blogroll. I'm a little obsessive about checking my Technorati page to see who is linking to me. Yesterday, I noticed that Money Millionaire was one such site. While the theme isn't......
- All post WWII cents are now worth more than face value The copper ones (pre-1982) have been worth more than one cent in melt value for a while. But the newer, "cheaper" zinc ones (post-1982) are also now worth more than one cent each in melt value! With zinc trading at around $1.80 per pound, one hundred 97.5% zinc pennies are......
- Baseball Cards Sports Memorabilia -> Autographs, Original -> Baseball-MLB-> Trading Cards Baseball cards have been around for just about as long as the sport has and many of them have turned into very valuable collector items. Whether you are interested in collecting baseball cards from a fan perspective, or you are more......
