Six books that tell the history of money, going back millennia

Large stone discs with a hole in the centre were the traditional form of currency on the island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia. (Image: Getty)

The Economist

Sun, 14 May 2023

Money predates history. Before the ancient Mesopotamians invented the means of writing, they had invented accountancy, using cuneiform symbols to track the flow of goods into and out of temples. The history of money itself is fascinating – and helps to explain how it works today. Some of the six books selected here take on the daunting, perhaps impossible, task of tracking the entire history of money. Others home in on one particular aspect or episode of it. Each is illuminating and demonstrates that money itself has plenty...

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