2. A Brief of

3. 9000 – 6000 BC First the Domestication of cattle, and then the cultivation of crops (grain) lead to “exchange”, or a currency.

4. ? – 3100 BC Mesopotamia To keep track of accounts, writing is invented As trade and transport grew, a common symbol system was needed to represent amounts (natural number system developed)

5. 3000 – 2000 Mesopotamia Banking is invented. Run by Temples or Palaces, it provides a way to store valuables (grain, cattle, tools…) “Bank” comes from the Italian word Banca meaning bench or counter.

6. 390 BC Rome A Guard is alerted to an attempted robbery on the state bank by a disturbed flock of birds. The grateful Romans build a shrine to MONETA, the goddess of warning. From MONETA, the words “money” and “mint” are derived.

7. 806 – 821 China Paper money is invented: Hien Tsung invents paper money during a severe shortage of copper. 1095 – 1270 The Crusades The crusades provide the stimulus for banking to excel in Europe.

8. 1100 : Henry I - Becomes King of England At some point during his reign, the quality of silver coins decreases. All the managers at the main mint have their right hands cut off. The coin quality returns to normal.

9. 1159 : England The king begins to hire men as mercenaries. They are paid with the King’s shilling called solidus. These men become soldiers

10. 1275 – 1292 Marco Polo Marco Polo lives in China. Upon his return, Europe learns of paper money. 1348 – 1350 The Plague “The Black Death” devastates Europe and all economies. 1 in every 3 people die.

11. 1519 : A coin is minted in Bohemia and becomes popular in trade, called the Joachimsthaler (Thaler for short) The Anglicized version of the name: dollar

12. 1792 The dollar is adopted as the unit of account. It is subdivided into 100 cents. 1803: The Louisiana Purchase America buys Louisiana from France for $15 000 000 (Napoleon needs the cash).

13. 1867 Canada is created 1910 World War I 1940 World War II 1930 The Great Depression

14. 1947: IMF begins functioning 1973:US abandons the Gold Standard 1974: OPEC

15. 1982: Bank Machines are introduced to the general public. 1995: 90% of all transaction done in the US are done electronically.

16. 2002 The European Union introduced the Euro, a coin to be used in 11 European Countries. Will there be a world currency? Will cash disappear? Future