Evolution of money

Money, of course - is a historical category that has arisen as society develops. The evolution of forms and types of money was considered by many economists, and not all of them come to a single classification. Some authors identify full and incomplete forms of money. Others, taking as a basis natural-functional features, divide money into commodity, full and indivisible.

Evolution of money has led to the fact that by now, their product form has already disappeared. Hence a new interpretation. Money, as an instrument of public economic relations, is:

- Means of exchange;

- a measure of value;

- the way of accumulation;

- means of payment.

But there is another definition, which takes into account the evolution of money itself. It was formulated by K. Marx. Money is a commodity that has emerged from the commodity world in a spontaneous order, it is the universal equivalent and serves as the crystallization of exchange value. Based on these definitions, you can classify types and forms of money as follows:

1. The form of money has the following forms:
   • Cattle, furs, slaves, shells, etc.
2. High-grade money:
   • Gold and silver in ingots;
   • Gold and silver in coins.
3. Defective money:
   • Treasury banknotes;
   • Tickets;
   • Bilon coin.
4. Quasi money:
   • Cash on savings and term deposits with banks.

The evolution of money was also due to the development of commodity production. As a result, two types of money appeared: real (metal money and equivalent goods) and cost signs, which are, in fact, substitutes for real money (credit and paper money). Speaking about real money, we must remember that their nominal value corresponds to the real one.

Let us consider in more detail how the general evolution of the forms of money took place.

Initially, metal money, usually gold, silver or copper, were in circulation in unit and weight. Then appeared the mating forms and figured (ornaments). The prototype of the coins was the bean-shaped form of ingots of the same mass and size. The word coin was coined in Rome in the 3rd century BC. The Roman Mint printed coins that had a state stamp, which guaranteed their solvency. Coins made a very important change in monetary circulation - now they were taken into account not by weight, but at the nominal value indicated on them, which meant the amount of metal used.

Metal money has an intrinsic intrinsic value. The establishment of the signs of value over time on coins was associated with a number of reasons that led to an increase and expansion of trade.

- A large consumption of precious metals and the inability to produce more precious metals.

- High costs for maintenance of monetary circulation.

- The complexity of moving a large mass of metal for the implementation of monetary calculation.

- Lack of elasticity - the ability to contract and expand.

- Gold and silver had limited consumption in other areas.

- The state, using a monopoly on the coinage of coins, derived from this profit, reducing the sample and the mass of metal and leaving the nominal value unchanged.

The presence of the above factors led to the fact that the evolution of money continued. There were substitutes for real money - credit, paper money and a bill of exchange. Their nominal value has already exceeded the real one.

The state emulates paper money, giving them a course at their own discretion, since they do not have an independent value. For the state this is an additional source of income. Typically, the issue of money increases at a time when the state is at war or is in a state of crisis.

With the development of commodity production, credit money also appears. There is a need in them if the purchase and sale involves installment or deferred payment.