After 5,000 Years, Cash Is Still King

Peter Rexford
Wed, 29 Jul 2015 21:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

It's easy to take money for granted. Not the earning or acquisition of it. No one assumes that's simple. But, once people have it, cash becomes sort of second nature. When buying groceries, gas or a ticket to a show, it almost unthinkingly goes from the pocket or purse over to the register.

Such wasn't always the case — far from it. Dial the clock back 5,000 years or so and it's interesting to see what was needed to make purchases.

The first form of money (that we know of) was cattle, sheep, camels, horses and other livestock. Maybe they used chickens as change. Who knows? When agriculture was developed, corn and grains entered the barter mix.
Updated: Thu Jul 30, 2015

It's easy to take money for granted. Not the earning or acquisition of it. No one assumes that's simple. But, once people have it, cash becomes sort of second nature. When buying groceries, gas or a ticket to a show, it almost unthinkingly goes from the pocket or purse over to the register.

Such wasn't always the case — far from it. Dial the clock back 5,000 years or so and it's interesting to see what was needed to make purchases.

The first form of money (that we know of) was cattle, sheep, camels, horses and other livestock. Maybe they used chickens as change. Who knows? When agriculture was developed, corn and grains entered the barter mix.

After that, evidence suggests small, ornamental cowrie shells were used extensively in trade. People who didn't live near an ocean especially prized them. The cowrie shell is considered the longest used type of currency in history. By 1,000 B.C., the first metal money emerged in China in the form of small tools such as knives and small spades. Those evolved into round coins with holes in the middle so they could be carried on a chain or lanyard.

The Chinese developed several other currency forms including leather money (in a way the forerunner of paper money) and blocks of compressed black tea. The tea block was scored so it could be separated to make change.

In what might be considered "modern" times, the Romans were the first to feature a living person in the form of Julius Caesar on a coin. According to Levine Breaking News, the first Roman coinage was struck in the temple of Juno Moneta from which the name "money" comes.

They also note that in the Middle Ages, instead of carrying cash that could be stolen, knights wore special rings that were, in a sense, the first credit cards. When paying for a stay at an inn or for meals, the knight would make an imprint of his ring on the invoice. That invoice would later be taken to the respective knight's castle for payment.

In the news we hear about counterfeit money always being found in our circulating currency. That's why the continuing new designs and anti-counterfeiting devices are being incorporated into our paper money. But, any problems we have now don't hold a candle to what they had in the 1860s. By the end of the Civil War in 1865, upwards of 1/3 to 1/2 of all U.S. paper money was fake. The Secret Service was created to thwart that. Today, even though an estimated $47 million in current paper money is counterfeit, that is barely 0.02 percent of what's in circulation — a much needed improvement.

So, what does the future hold? Almost 40 percent of what we buy is paid for with credit or debit cards. And alternatives such as pogs and Bitcoins seem to come and go. Doesn't matter. For now, cash is still king — so much so that the U.S. Mint recently added a third manufacturing shift meaning coins are being struck and shipped around the clock in Philadelphia and Denver.

In the eyes of financial and budgeting consultants, reliance on cash is a good thing. In fact, they suggest those in debt switch almost exclusively to cash. That's because, when someone sees actual money tangibly leaving their hands, they often don't make frivolous purchases and thus spend less.

That's essential to avoid the dreaded term, "bankrupt." According to Levine, it comes from the Italian "banca rotto," translated to "broken bench." In earlier days, lender/bankers literally did business on benches in public squares. Should a lender run out of money or be found to be disreputable, he would be run off and his bench broken. No one would take that for granted, then or now.

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of African cowrie shells has been sent with this column.