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I remember seeing a documentary that made the connection between the evolution of money and the human race's tendency to find inherent value in "collectibles".
by hackinthebochs 13y ago
I remember seeing a documentary that made the connection between the evolution of money and the human race's tendency to find inherent value in "collectibles". Stones, shells, jewelry, etc, were all the basis for a currency in various times, and its only because of our shared appreciation for collectibles that this worked.
- sjg007 13y agoOne should read: The Island of Stone Money.
- yskchu 13y agoWow, very interesting, thanks for that! For others interested, here's some links: NPR Article http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/15/131934618/the-island-of-stone-money http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/15/131934618/the-isla... Milton Friedman paper on the island. http://hoohila.stanford.edu/workingpapers/getWorkingPaper.php?filename=E-91-3.pdf http://hoohila.stanford.edu/workingpapers/getWorkingPaper.ph...
- brc 13y agoWell, currency is defined by divisibility, durability, scarcity and difficulty of forging. Humans desire a medium of exchange to better facilitate trade. The desire to trade creates the requirement for currency. The desire to collect manifests in many different forms - but the use of currency is separate (though probably related) to that.
- tellarin 13y agoCollectibles are also related to durability, scarcity and difficulty of forging. So I guess it's more related to currency than most would realize. I for one had never thought about it this way.