What Is Money?

What This Book Covers

1. Chapter One - The First Trade
2. Chapter Two - Tokens, Tallies, and Grain
3. Chapter Three - Metals and Meaning
4. Chapter Four - The Roman Mint
5. Chapter Five - Paper, Promises, and Power
6. Chapter Six - The Crown and the Coin
7. Chapter Seven - Debt as a Weapon
8. Chapter Eight - The Gold Standard and Its Fall
9. Chapter Nine - Money From Nothing
10. Chapter Ten - Credit, Cards, and Code
11. Chapter Eleven - Blockchain and the Digital Revolution
12. Chapter Twelve - What Gives Money Value?
13. Chapter Thirteen - The Future of Value
14. Chapter Fourteen - What You Trade Reveals Who You Are
15. Chapter Fifteen - From Transaction to Connection

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE The First Trade PICTURE THIS: ONE person has a sharp stone. Another has dried meat. One says, “I’ll give you this if you give me that.” There was no coin. No system. No economy. Just trust. Before civilization, before cuneiform, before the first minted coin, there was barter. Humans lived in tribes and exchanged what they had for what they needed. But it wasn’t just stuff for stuff. Barter was personal. It was saying, “I know you.” “I trust you.” “We both gain from this.” There were no receipts. Only reputation. And if someone broke that trust? They weren’t just poor. They were cast out. Barter worked beautifully… until humans expanded beyond tribes. Once people started...