Money Talks: The history of money

You go the corner store and buy a carton of milk and some eggs. You pay and you leave. That's normal, right?your parents buy some new clothes for you: a pair of blue jeans and nice T-shirt. When they pay, they don't even need money. they pull a piece of plastic from their wallet, give it to the cashier and that's it. That's what credit cards are for, right?it's hard for us believe that there once was a time when credit cards didn't exist. there was even a time when money didn't exist.

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There was a time when you had to go to the farmer for your milk and eggs. The farmer took something he or she needed, maybe some corn that you grew in your fields.This exchange of products is called barter. The barter system is based on reciprocal gifts:  "If I give you some corn, will you give me some eggs? Barter worked before money existedBarter also included physical labor. Men and women worked in exchange for food. 

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Little by little, primitive money started to appear. People used something of value to pay for a product or service. In Mesoamerica, chocolate was a valued drink.A simple quachtli was worth 65 cocoa beans, but a well-made and decorated quatchli could cost up to 300 cocoa beansAztecs used cocoa beans as money. They were small, easty to carry and a porter to carry your things home. Large amounts were paid in quachtli, a long white cape

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5 green chilies= 1 cocoa bean1 large tomato= 1 cocoa bean1 avocado= 3 cocoa beans1 rabbit= 30 cocoa beans1 turkey= 100 cocoa beans1 canoe= 1 Quachtli100 sheets of amate paper= 1 quachtli1 warrior's costume and shield= 64 quachtli1 string of jade beads= 600 quachtli

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PRIMITIVE MONEYpigs vodka and yarns amber               beads cocoa cowries drums eggs feathers gongs hoes ivory jade kettles leather rice and salt clothes

An important barter or commodity was cattle. Cows, sheeps, and goats were important in early civilizations. They provided meat for food, wool and skins for clothes and bones for toolsEqually important was the ceremonial or religious value of cattle. They were used for offerings. Cattle were a primitive form of money because they could be counted. The more cows a family had, the richer they were.

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Money Words:Dollar: comes from the thaler coins from 16 th century Europe.The sign "$": spanish word (peso)Capital and cattle both have the same origin 

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BANKS:were invented in Mesopotamia in middle east. Royal temples and palaces were considered secure places to keep the commodities

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METAL MONEY:People started using metal as money but  coins did not exist yet.  The weight of the pieces of metal determined their value.One of the first forms of coins was from China. made  of metal (bronze or copper)

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PAPER MONEY:The invention of paper money happened in China, around the year 1000. Later the chinese went back to the familiar metal coins

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UNTOUCHABLE MONEYFrom 1870 to 1970, the value of money was linked to the value of the gold a country possessed.People can have money, but it's possible they never see or touch most of itThe first modern credit card was from the Bank of America in 1958Now there are so many credit cards that some people collect them

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issuing bank logo EMV chip on smart cards hologram credit card number expiration date cardholder name magnetic stripe card security code signature strip

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If you don't pay your debt completely, you can have serious problems. In a few years, you could have your own credit card and you should know how to use it. Let's look at an exampleMany adults ignore the dangers of speding with credit cards and they have terrible debts. Ask in your family if people have or have had problems with credit cards. You may be surprised about their experiences

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To spend safely, you should: pay the total debt before you use your card again if you owe money to the bank, you should pay the debt. Don't buy other things What if you have an emergency and need some extra money?if you use your credit card, write down how much you spend. It is very easy to forget that you already reached your limit for the month

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SAVINGSSometime you receive more money then you need, for example for your birthday. You can save this money and use it for emergencies.There is an expression that says, "money doesn't grow on trees". It means that it's not easy to get money, so be careful with it

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