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Theleroi.eth
@theleroi
The History of Currency! 🪙💲 A brief yet deep dive into the evolution of currency From the barter system to cryptocurrency. Explore the pros and cons of each system and how societies have adapted and accepted these changes through the ages, shaping the way we exchange value today.
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@thumbsup.eth
I recommend checking out anthropologist David Graeber’s renowned book Debt: The First 5000 Years. I wrote a similar piece to yours years ago, and later learned that the “barter system” did not actually precede money. That is a made up idea for which no historical anthropological evidence exists. Instead, barter is used almost always in systems where there is already a currency to correlate values of assets to.
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Theleroi.eth
@theleroi
Oh, really? Thanks for sharing that! So, what you're saying is that while barter has always existed, there has also always been some form of currency alongside it one that assigns value to goods and determines their worth?
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@thumbsup.eth
Yes and no. It’s so interesting the way they lay it out in the book. There are a number of non-commerce forms of exchange that have existed but currency is very old and predates barter. And the idea of the coincidence of wants is pure fiction
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Theleroi.eth
@theleroi
Ow I see Now I'm really interested in checking that book you mentioned ! Meanwhile, I am also curious about reading the article you wrote about currency years ago ! Any link to it ? ( article you mentioned in your first comment 😃 )
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@thumbsup.eth
Here it is, but please note I haven’t revised it with respect to “the myth of barter” I wrote this in 2021 and only updated in 2023 with some thoughts about why Bitcoin is not a good option. https://thumbsup.mirror.xyz/SzX3zxT8Pn9YhQZakLSSaB6P7gnZ-EjcnZ3ImQ1KvII
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