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 -
Federal Reserve Notes Coins and Paper Money -> Paper Money: US -> Large Size Notes -> Federal Reserve Notes One of the most interesting collectibles in the field of coins and paper money are federal reserve notes. However, there is quite a bit of confusion out there about what these notes really are....... -
John Quincy Dollar Roll Money -> Dollars -> Presidential-2007-Now Whether you’re new to coin collecting or you’ve been fascinated by coins for years, now is the time to invest in a John Quincy Adams dollar roll. If you have a free book offered by the US Mint to house your Presidential Dollars collection, you’ll...... -
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...... - Chinese Paper Money Coins and Paper Money -> Paper Money - World -> China The Chinese actually invented paper money, and the process of making it dates back to the early 9th century. Collectors are always seeking Chinese paper money due to its rich history and value, and this is a currency that......
-
Greek Coins Coins and Paper Money -> Coins - Ancient -> Greek Coins As a link to the ancient world, coins are an incredibly popular way to capture this history. Thanks to the minting process and the metals that were used, we can still enjoy many ancient coins today. Greek coins are......
Related Websites - 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......
-
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...... -
Improve Your Credit Today Having blemished credit is both costly and stressful, but it does not have to be the end. Your situation may seem incredibly hopeless, but bad credit does not last forever. There are many things that can be done to improve your credit score. 1 - Stop using any of your...... -
Money, Gold, the FED, and why you should be concerned about the US Dollar This is a guest post by Mr Credit Card from askmrcreditcard.com. Though Mr Credit Card reviews credit cards, today, he is going to bring us back in time and explore the history of money and the Federal Reserve Bank and why we should be worried about the dollar. If you...... - Anatomy of a stress test | Fool.com gets it (abridged) One part of Treasury Secretary Geithner’s plan to prop up the failing bank sector is a forward-looking “stress test” imposed on every bank with over $100 billion in assets. Those failing the test would have access to contingent capital that could, thought goes, keep them alive — or zombified, depending......
