The History of Money October 2011
Mar 27, 2015
The History of Money
October 2011
Why do we have money?
Convenience It is often easier to use money
than barter / trade
Would you prefer to receive fish or eggs instead of cash for the services you provide to your employer ?
What is money?
Features of Money
A medium of exchange
A unit of account
A store of value
Medium of Exchange Liquidity
Easily tradable, with a low spread between the prices to buy and sell
TransportableHaving a high valueto weight ratio
A Unit of AccountDivisibleCan be divided into small units without destroying its value (which is why leather and live animals are not suitable)
FungibleOne unit or piece must be equivalent to another (which is why diamonds, works of art or real estate are not suitable)
Precisely MeasurableOf a specific weight, or measure, or size to be verifiably countable. You must be able to weigh, measure, and count your unit of account!
A Store of Value Durable
It should be long lasting and not perishable or subject to decay (which is why food items, expensive spices, or even fine silks or oriental rugs are not generally suitable as money)
Stable value
ScarceCan’t be easily manufactured
Difficult to counterfeitIt must be difficult to make fakes, and the real thing must be easily recognizable.
Features of Money
A medium of exchange
A unit of account
A store of value
Best Forms of Money
Historically, gold & silver coins and bars
Warning on Love of Money
The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil...
-1 Tim. 6:10 NIV
[Note: money is not evil, just the love of it.]
Currency Debasement
The practice of lowering the value of currency.
Results in financial gain for the sovereign at the expense of citizens
Lowers the value of the coinage, causing inflation
- Wikipedia
Currency Debasement in Rome The Roman Denarius
Currency Debasement in Rome Collapse of the
Roman Silver Monetary System, measured by silver content, 10 BC – 290 AD
Currency Debasement in China 11th Century China – Flying Money
Called it “flying money” because it could just fly from your hands
Banks had switched to the use of iron coinage due to copper shortage
These iron coins became over-issued and fell in value
A bank in the Szechuan province issued paper money in exchange for the iron coins
Currency Debasement in China Initially, the paper money was fine, because it
was exchangeable for gold, silver, or silk
Eventually, inflation began totake hold, as China was fundingan ongoing war with the Mongols,which it eventually lost.
In the end, the best families inthe empire were ruined, a new set of men came into the controlof public affairs, and the countrybecame the scene of horrific warfare and confusion.
Currency Debasement in France
John Law was the first man to introduce paper money to France in the early 18th Century
Louis XIV died and left 3 billionlivres of debt to his son, Louis XV
Louis XV required that all taxes be paid in paper money, which was initially backed by coinage
After high inflation, people demanded coinage, and the currency collapsed.
John Law became the most hated man in France and was forced to flee to Italy.
Currency Debasement in France
In the latter part of the 18th century, the French government tried paper money again.
By 1795, inflation of assignats was running at approximately 13,000%.
Then Napoleon returned the countryto gold coinage, a stable currency.
French gave it another go in the 1930s, this time with the paper franc. It took only 12 years for them to inflate their currency until it lost 99% of its value.
Currency Debasement in Weimar Germany
Post-World War I Weimar Germany was one of the greatest periods of hyperinflation that ever existed.
The only way the Germans could pay the war reparations required by the Treaty of Versailles was by running the printing press.
Thousands of people lost their life savings
Many starved to death
1 billion mark, 1923
Currency Debasement in Weimar Germany
Inflation got so bad in this period that German citizens were literally using stacks of marks to heat their furnaces.
Currency Debasement in Weimar Germany
Brief 4-year timeline of the marks per one U.S. dollar exchange rate:
April 1919: 12 marks
November 1921: 263 marks
January 1923: 17,000 marks
August 1923: 4.621 million marks
October 1923: 25.26 billion marks
December 1923: 4.2 trillion marks
Modern Currency Debasement
Hungary – 10 million pengo, 1945
Modern Currency Debasement
Nicaragua – 10 million córdobas, 1990
Modern Currency Debasement
Yugoslavia – 10 billion dinar, 1993
Modern Currency Debasement
Bosnia – 100 million dinar, 1993
Modern Currency Debasement
Turkey – 5 million lira, 1997
Modern Currency Debasement
Zimbabwe – 100 trillion dollars, 2006
Modern Currency Debasement
Currency Debasement
Gold Certificate
Silver Certificate
Federal Reserve Note
Fiat Currency Currency that has value only because of
government regulation or law
Has no value other than what government declares
Not backed by gold or silver
The term derives from the Latin fiat, meaning "let it be done“
Originated in 11th century China, and its use became widespread during the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
Fiat Currency Spread to Europe gradually
Outlawed in the USA until 1933
The Nixon Shock of 1971 ended the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold
Broken promise to pay
Since 1971, all reserve currencies have been fiat currencies
Competitive devaluation
Dishonest Measure of Value
The Lord hates dishonest scales (including fiat currency), but accurate weights (like gold and silver) are his delight.
– Proverbs 11:1 NIV
Evolution of Fiat Money
1. Goldsmiths store gold and become banks
2. Banks lend gold that’s theirs
3. Banks lend others’ gold
4. Banks lend with no gold backing (fractional reserve concept)
5. Money is debt; no gold backing
Gunpowder
Change in Warfare
Clever Bankers
“Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who
makes its laws.
- Mayer Amshel Rothchild, Banker, 1744-1812
Currency WarsGeithner Says U.S. Will Never Weaken Dollar to Gain an Advantage in Trade
- April 26, 2011, Bloomberg
Debt Slavery
The borrower is slave to the lender.
- Proverbs 22:7 NIV
USG Debt, 1940-2010
The wicked borrows and does
not repay.
- Psalm 37:21 NIV
Who Owns USG Debt
Stewardship of Money Today
Inflation is like a tax, but it’s worse than a tax, because it is on your hard earned savings, not just your income – UNLESS you hold your savings in appreciating assets like gold and silver.
Gold Up 17% Per Year on Average
Silver Up 18% Per Year on Average
Bibliography
Special thanks goes to the following: Jay O’Keefe of www.somehelpful.info/Money/
Jason Hommel of www.silverstockreport.com
Martin Armstrong, All Systems Collapse Overnight
Wikipedia
Fiat Currency: Using the Past to See into the Future
The Daily Reckoning Presents, Fiat Currency: Using the Past to See into the Future
US National Debt Clock, www.brilling.com
The Skeptical Optimist, www.optimist123.com
More information:
www.somehelpful.info
Thank you!