Money of South America: MONEY OF THE WORLD, #1

By Andrej Margarin

Coins and paper money are legal tender in all countries of the world, and they constitute currency of state of issue — money in use or circulation as a medium of exchange. Nowadays, there are more than 160 currencies in circulation in the world and author decided to present all of them to readers in the series of books "Money of the World".

This is the first book in the series and it minutely describes all circulating coins and banknotes in 12 South American states and 4 dependent territories. Reader will find in the book almost 500 images of all banknotes and coins with their descriptions. Also, will find some curiosities and facts about states, territories and money itself.

The book is intended not only for numismatists and notaphilians, but also for all those interested in art of banknote and coin design, as well as money and South American history and culture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrej Margarin
• Release date: Aug 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201198701

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

A brief history of money

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Money, in some way, has been part of human history for approximately 5 000 years. Before money, people acquired and exchanged goods through a system of bartering, which involves the direct trade of goods and services -thing for thing or service.[1] After that humans developed what is called commodity money. A commodity is a basic item that's used by almost everyone in a given society. In the past, things such as salt, tea, tobacco, cattle, and seeds were considered commodities and therefore, were once used as money.[2] Sometime around 770 B.C., the Chinese moved from using actual usable objects–such as tools and weapons–as a medium of exchange to using miniature replicas of these same objects that had been cast in bronze. These tiny daggers, spades, and hoes were eventually abandoned for objects in the shape of a circle. These objects became some of the first coins.[3]

The first region of the world to use an industrial facility to manufacture coins that could be used as currency was in Europe, in the region called Lydia (now western Turkey). Today, this type of facility is called a mint, and the process of creating currency in this way is referred to as minting. In 600 B.C., Lydia's King Alyattes minted the first official currency. The coins were made from electrum, a mixture of silver and gold that occurs naturally, and the coins were stamped with pictures that acted as denominations.

Carrying around large quantities of coins could be exhausting work. It was early Chinese rulers that hit on the idea of keeping their heavy coins back in the palace, while issuing debt certificates on paper for long distance trading. The paper money was born. In the 13th century, Chinese paper money of Mongol Yuan became known in Europe through the accounts of travelers, such as Marco Polo and William of Rubruck.  In medieval Italy and Flanders, because of the insecurity and impracticality of transporting large sums of cash over long distances, money traders started using promissory notes. In the beginning these were personally registered, but soon they became a written order to pay the amount to whoever had it in their possession. These notes are seen as a predecessor to regular banknotes by some but are mainly thought of as proto bills of exchange and cheques. The term bank note comes from the notes of the bank (nota di banco) and dates from the 14th century; it originally recognized the right of the holder of the note to collect the precious metal (usually gold or silver) deposited with a banker (via a currency account).

The first European banknotes were issued by Stockholms Banco, a predecessor of Sweden's central bank Sveriges Riksbank, in 1661. These replaced the copper-plates being used instead as a means of payment, although in 1664 the bank ran out of coins to redeem notes and ceased operating in the same year.

The first bank to initiate the permanent issue of banknotes was the Bank of England. Established in 1694 to raise money for the funding of the war against France, the bank began issuing notes in 1695 with the promise to pay the bearer the value of the note on demand. They were initially handwritten to a precise amount and issued on deposit or as a loan. There was a gradual move toward the issuance of fixed denomination notes, and by 1745, standardized printed notes ranging from £20 to £1,000 were being printed. Fully printed notes that did not require the name of the payee and the cashier's signature first appeared in 1855.

In the late 20th century, payment cards such as credit cards and debit cards became the dominant mode of consumer payment. The development of computer technology in the second part of the twentieth century allowed money to be represented digitally. By the 2000s most money existed as digital currency in banks databases.

The 21st century has given rise to two novel forms of currency: mobile payment and virtual currency.

Abouth South America

South America is the fourth largest of the world’s continents. It is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the northwest and north, the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast, east, and southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. In the northwest it is joined to North America by the Isthmus of Panama, a land bridge narrowing to about 50 miles (ca. 80 km) at one point. Drake Passage, south of Cape Horn, separates South America from Antarctica.[4]

It is comprised of 6.89 million square miles, which are divided into 12 independent countries, 2 British overseas territories, 1 Dependent territory of Norway (it is doubtful if it is in South America) and 1 French overseas region. Each of these 16 areas uses its own currency with the exception of one sovereign country - Ecuador.

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Political map of South America, source WorldAtlas[5]

It seems that Pre-Colombian civilizations of South America didn't have currencies and they