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"From there, paper currency and credit was added as a more convenient layer onto gold." It's not a universally accepted opinion but I take Martin Felix's view,
by etothepii 6y ago
"From there, paper currency and credit was added as a more convenient layer onto gold."
It's not a universally accepted opinion but I take Martin Felix's view, articulated in "Money," that credit predates coinage.
It's turned me off the article and as a consequence I can't read any more.
- RobertoG 6y agoThe article is wrong about that but not about other things. Overall is an interesting reading. It's also interesting to see how step by step some myths are disappearing. For instance, the article recognize the importance of taxes as a main drive of giving value to a fiat currency.
- oa335 6y agoDavid Graebers book “Debt” also argues, successfully in my opinion, that credit predates coinage. The first written documents from Sumeria support this view.
- oa335 6y agoBy the way, though I agree with your sentiment re history of money, his allusion to the progression of economies from barter to coinage to credit was really just an aside and not relevant to any other part of the article. I did read the rest of the piece and found it very informative and enlightening, I highly recommend reading it, especially if you are interested in the nature of money.