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Money,
Money |
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Early
Money
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Before
there was money, as we know it, there was barter. People
in early societies developed forms of proto-money -- the
use of commodities that everyone agreed to accept in trade.
Various items have been used by different societies at
different times. Aztecs used cacao beans. Norwegians once
used butter. The early U.S. colonists used tobacco leaves
and animal hides (settlers traded deer hides -- the origin
of our modern word for money: "bucks"). The people of
Paraguay used snails. Roman soldiers were paid a "salarium"
of salt. On the island of Nauru, the islanders used rats.
Human slaves have also been used as currency around the
world. Pictured here: a flint arrowhead. |
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Symbolic
Proto-Money
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Early
in pre-history, people made a fundamental shift in
what they chose to use for proto-money. Some items,
such as arrowheads, salt and animal hides, were useful
in and of themselves. Gradually, however, people began
exchanging items that had no intrinsic value, but
which had only agreed-upon or symbolic value. An example
is the cowrie shell. Cowrie shells are found on an
island off the coast of India. They have been widely
used as currency in China, India, Thailand and in
West Africa (even as late as into the 1930s).
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More
Symbolic Currency |
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Another
symbolic currency -- used widely in the Americas -- was
wampum. Wampum are oblong clamshells sawed into beads,
polished, and then strung together. Wampum was used as
legal tender in several early American colonies and states.
A wampum factory in New Jersey remained in business until
1859. From the widespread use of wampum as symbolic currency
we get the current phrase "shelling out". |
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Egyptian
Currency
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The
ancient Egyptians developed a system for making payments
with weighed amounts of precious metal, such as the
silver shown to the right, which were weighed on a
balance with stone weights (below). Inscriptions on
the weights were often made by officials to verify
the accuracy of the measurement.
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600
B.C. The First Coins |
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Coins
are pieces of metal marked with designs that indicates
they are money. The earliest coins were made in the Kingdom
of Lydia (now in Turkey) in the 7th Century B.C. The Lydians
used weighed lumps of metal (the shape was unimportant),
stamped with pictures to confirm their weight. The process
of stamping is called "minting". The stamp on
the coin was a seal that identified the person who had
guaranteed the coin's weight. |
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The
Spread of Coins
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The
use of coins spread rapidly around the world, spreading
quickly from Lydia across Africa and Europe. These
coins (right) were made in Greece in the 6th Century
B.C. The Greeks were avid traders throughout the Mediterranean
region, and the spread of coinage around the region
can in large measure be traced to the influence of
the early Greek trading peoples.
Alexander the Great's expansion across 3 continents
was due in part by his ability to pay his armies with
coins and keep them loyal. He minted and held huge
supplies of silver coins. Sources estimate that at
the peak of his empire Alexander paid out one thousand
pounds of silver coins each day.
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500
B.C. Chinese Coins |
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The
earliest Chinese coins were made from Bronze in the
shape of tools and cowrie shells. (Cowrie shells had
been used as money earlier in China.)
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Chinese
Paper Money
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The
earliest paper money was invented in China during
the 10th cenury. Unfortunately, no examples of this
paper money exist today.
Ghengis
Khan was instrumental in the spread of paper money
as currency. Ghengis Khan was intrigued with the paper
money he discovered when he conquered China in the
13th Century. He used paper money as a uniform currency
across his vast empire. He seized everyone's gold
and silver, giving back paper money in return. He
made rejecting the paper money a capital offense.
Ghengis Khan's actions gave the government a monopoly
on precious metals and left the population with no
choice but to use his issued paper money as currency.
Marco Polo noted in 1304, "...All the grand Khan's
subjects receive this paper money without hesitation,
because, wherever their business may call them, they
can dispose of it again in the purchase of merchandise
they have occasion for..." .
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Paper
Money in Europe |
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Paper money was adopted in Europe much later than in
Asia and the Arab world -- primarily because Europe
didn't have paper. The first papermill in Europe was
established by the Moors in 1151 A.D. in what is now
Spain, but paper was not widely accepted because of
religious prejudice. Official Christian officials discouraged
paper because it was introduced by the heathen Moors.
In 1221, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II announced
that official documents written on paper were invalid
-- only parchment or vellum were acceptable. Nevertheless,
the use of paper spread because of its obvious convenience.
Once
paper was available, people began leaving their heavy
coins with merchants in exchange for handwritten receipts.
The note illustrated on the left was issued by a Norwegian
merchant in exchange for coins in 1695. The merchant
used the coins to fund his business.
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Bank
Notes
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Beginning
in the 11th century, European governments took over
from local merchants and began printing paper money
that served as official money. To make the system simpler,
the paper receipts were given fixed values. The paper
note shown on the right was issued by the Swedish Stockholm
Bank in 1661 -- the first bank in Europe to issue printed
money.
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Early
U.S. Money |
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This
is an example of early continental currency, issued by
the U.S. colonists when they first broke from Britain.
The colonists financed the Revolutionary War with paper
dollars issued by the Continental Congress. |
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2006
meeting schedule, including speakers, topics, times and locations.
Introducing
the 2006 Board of Directors of the PTMA, including contact information.
Information
on who to contact at PTMA about various topics, from joining, paying dues, volunteering
to work on programs, jobs, etc.
A
description of the benefits of PTMA membership, plus information on how to join
our group.
In
January 2002, the PTMA Board adopted a 3-Year Strategic Plan. This Strategic
Plan arose out of a member survey conducted in the Fall of 2001. See where your
PTMA is going.
The
2006 Board is committed to developing services that aid members in 3 areas:
career development, networking, and continuing education.
The
Bylaws of the PTMA outline our roles & responsibilities, and how we are
organized to get things done.
The
PTMA maintains a job bank for PTMA members, with current postings for treasury
professionals across the Bay Area.
We've
gathered a large number of job-search resources for our members to use as they
advance their career.
The
PTMA Mentor Program is on hold.
A
directory of all of our PTMA members -- available for members only (and for
non-solicitation purposes only).
Our
members were clear that they look to the PTMA to help them establish a network
of friends and professional connections. We're planning some events to do just
that!
Some
of our members have volunteered to serve as a resource to other members on various
topics. Check out this resource directory.
The
PTMA has worked with Bay Area Treasurers to define essential skills and capabilities
to excel in the Treasury profession. We've also tried to identify resources
to help you develop these skills.
The
PTMA has negotiated favorable pricing on training and courses for its members.
A
list of web-based resources for treasury professionals.
Beginning
in 2002, the PTMA began archiving some of its monthly meetings. Members can
refer to these archived presentations at a later date.
