What did we do before the invention of money? And who invented it? Will it ever go away completely? Today we’re doing a little big history of money!
Driving Question: How has money changed over time?
- What’s the oldest coin you can find in your house? What’s the most interesting currency you can find? Do you have any foreign currency? Go ahead and look! In my search, I found a penny from 1964 and a 20 francs coin from 1956. Francs were the national currency of France before they switched to the Euro. Money is so interesting! But have you ever wondered, what did we do before the invention of money? And who invented it?!
Word of the Day: Barter
- Definition: To trade goods or services for equivalent goods or services without an exchange of money.
- Before money was used as currency, humans bartered. The earliest humans probably had little need for bartering. Maybe they exchanged animal skins or berries. However, we know trade really picked up when people had surpluses thanks to farming. In fact, we can trace bartering all the way back to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, who started exchanging goods and services with their neighbors.
Lesson
- Go to Khan Academy and watch the video, History of Money.
- In this video, Jacqueline Howard discusses what exactly makes something money. As she presents a history of money, keep track of the ways that it evolved over time. Prior to money, what system was used? Why did we move toward money?
Historian’s Journal Prompt
- What does the future hold for money?
- With credit and debit cards, direct transfer, PayPal and Venmo, Bitcoin, and autopay, more and more monetary transactions are being made digitally. In fact, it costs almost two and a half cents to make a penny. In other words, the cost of producing a penny is almost double its value! At some point, will our current form of currency become obsolete? Do you think money will ever go away completely? If so, what problems might arise in a world where no real money ever changes hands?
