Articles
Encyclopedia Article
Image from screen save of article
Whenever people pay for goods or services, they use some form of money. Money can be almost anything, as long as everyone agrees on its value. One of the earliest
forms of money was metal, such as gold or silver. In North America, Native
Americans used beads made of shell, called wampum, as a form of money.
How Money Works
Before people used money, they bartered, or traded things they had for the things they wanted. For example, a
person may have traded five goats for one cow. Bartering was not always simple, though. Each person had to agree that the items being traded had an equal value. Also, each person had to have something that the other person wanted.
People invented money to avoid bartering. Someone with five goats could exchange them for a certain amount of money instead of a cow. The person could then exchange that money for grain, cloth, or other goods of the same value.
Today the metal coins and pieces of paper that people use for money have little real value. In other words, people do not use the paper for writing or the metal for making tools. The value of paper money and coins comes from
an agreement between all people. They agree that they will accept certain forms of money in exchange for their goods and services. This agreement between people is the reason money works.
History
People have used money for more than 4,000 years. In the 600s BC the kingdom of Lydia in what is now Turkey began to make coins. It was probably the first government to do so. These coins were a combination of silver and gold, called electrum. Many ancient peoples, including the Greeks and the Romans, also used coins.
The first types of paper money were used in China more than 1,000 years ago. Early paper money was simply a written promise to pay a certain amount of gold or silver money. The paper money was valuable because it
could be traded for gold or silver. Later, governments began printing paper money. In the 1900s most governments made paper money valuable on its own. It no longer stood for gold or silver.
forms of money was metal, such as gold or silver. In North America, Native
Americans used beads made of shell, called wampum, as a form of money.
How Money Works
Before people used money, they bartered, or traded things they had for the things they wanted. For example, a
person may have traded five goats for one cow. Bartering was not always simple, though. Each person had to agree that the items being traded had an equal value. Also, each person had to have something that the other person wanted.
People invented money to avoid bartering. Someone with five goats could exchange them for a certain amount of money instead of a cow. The person could then exchange that money for grain, cloth, or other goods of the same value.
Today the metal coins and pieces of paper that people use for money have little real value. In other words, people do not use the paper for writing or the metal for making tools. The value of paper money and coins comes from
an agreement between all people. They agree that they will accept certain forms of money in exchange for their goods and services. This agreement between people is the reason money works.
History
People have used money for more than 4,000 years. In the 600s BC the kingdom of Lydia in what is now Turkey began to make coins. It was probably the first government to do so. These coins were a combination of silver and gold, called electrum. Many ancient peoples, including the Greeks and the Romans, also used coins.
The first types of paper money were used in China more than 1,000 years ago. Early paper money was simply a written promise to pay a certain amount of gold or silver money. The paper money was valuable because it
could be traded for gold or silver. Later, governments began printing paper money. In the 1900s most governments made paper money valuable on its own. It no longer stood for gold or silver.
Money. ( 2013). In Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=399548
Magazine Article
Image from http://dynamath.scholastic.com/
A mathematics quiz concerning addition and subtraction of money amounts.
Click here to view article about counting money.
Entin, C. (2011, September). Stadiyum. Scholastic DynaMath, 30(1), p 4-5.
Click here to view article about counting money.
Entin, C. (2011, September). Stadiyum. Scholastic DynaMath, 30(1), p 4-5.
BACK TO MAIN PAGE
Click here to go back to main page
Happy Valley Middle School Library and Happy Valley Middle School are fictional.
This website was created as part of a school project.
See About Us (internal link) for more details.
This website was created as part of a school project.
See About Us (internal link) for more details.