The History of Money

correspond à mes attentes, merci

“The History of Money” by Jack Weatherford, Three Rivers Press, New York, 19971. Is a good introductory history. If you are serious about “money” do not let this be the last book you read. But if you are serious about money, this book is a fun easy read.2. Most of the book traces a path that is familiar to economic historians. I did like some of the details he provided about things like Croesus, who minted the first coinage, and Arab traders in China, who deposited their gold in return for official receipts that functioned like bearer notes.3. He might have expanded his treatment of renaissance banking and the emergence of fractional reserve banking considering the interrelationship of money to banking and banking to debt.4. His chapter on the Spanish gold based inflation might have served as a cautionary tale for those enamored of a commodity based currency or bullionism.5. His tales of the hyperinflation caused by irresponsible government printing of currency is an often told story. (In contrast the US mint sells currency to banks.)6. I wish he had spent more space on Bretton Woods, considering the role that it plays in money today.7. I would recommend his chapter on the “Cash Ghetto” to anyone, regardless of their interest in economics who is concerned about poverty.8. Weatherford devotes the end of the book to “Electronic Money” where he observes that, “Rather than being the means for the market, money has become the market.” (page 290)9. It was amusing to read, “The proponents of the so-called smart card hope that it will replace many of the routine cash payments that people make every day.” (page 238) Since the book was written in 1997, I wonder what Weatherford would say today.10. I would like to have seen his treatment of the financial meltdown in 2008.11. One thing that Weatherford can’t seem to get his mind around was the absence of a commodity basis for currency. It is hard to think that the money in the bank isn’t based on a pile of gold in a government vault somewhere; But is based rather upon the collateral that bank is financing. Many will note that overvalued collateral caused the collapse in 2008. Still, when a bank finances a new home, car, or factory the wealth of the bank has been increased by (not gold) but by a new home, car, or factory. What the system needs is an honest assessment of asset values – Remember Enron’s “mark to market” accounting – which may point to the need for more, not less regulation.12. A related topic is when government creates money through obligational authority. Government expenditures are paid by the Treasury through book entries much as any business would do. When the government pays to create a road, build a warship, educate a child, create a vaccine, predict a storm, or many of the other non-exclusionary things that government pays for, note that the government has created more national wealth, without putting more gold in a vault.

One of the best books about the real history on money and everyone should read it, especially economists.

To me the cover of this book makes it look rather dry and serious. But really, its a highly enjoyable romp through money's past. I appreciate that this sounds dismissive, but its not meant to. The book does lack the intellectual depth and rigour of say, fellow anthroplogist Greaber's 'Debt - the first 5000 years', or economic historian Davies' 'A History of Money'. Nevertheless, if what Weatherford set out to do was write an engaging and readable history in 250 odd pages, then he has succeeded.The book is divided into three parts. The first 'Classic Cash' grips you with gory detail about exchange in the ancient and medieval world. The second 'Paper Money' gives a bird's eye view of money from around the time of the reformation and through the industrial revolution. The third is 'Electronic Cash' where Weatherford brings us up to date and even speculates on the future a little.I can't see this book being quoted in academic works, or appearing in too many bibliographies. However, bringing the history of money to a wider public is hugely important, and this book is a noble effort. If you're going to do an economics 101, or any finance related course, it'll put things in perspective for you.I enjoyed it. And I recommend it.

Jack Weatherford has written one of the few highly readable histories of money. I used this book to prepare for a university-level course I am teaching in Money and Banking. The anecdotes and explanations of how various monetary systems work alone make this worth buying.There are minor faults, including the implicit assumption that coinage preceded banking (it was the Babylonians and Egyptians who invented banking, as far as we know). Also, the book could use updating, since electronic money has so radically changed. That being said, this is an excellent book for a beginner!