History of Money

Where does money come from, and what is it, exactly? Depending on how we look at it, it is at the same time a means of exchange, a unit of account, a language (the language of economic value), or a synonym for wealth. The term is also loaded with aspirations and emotions: having enough or a lot of money is connected to freedom, security, status, power, or peace of mind. We will explore these various layers tonight, as we travel along the centuries since Prehistory and the first monetary tokens, to Antiquity and the beginnings of coinage, and finally to modern times with paper money, dematerialized money, and fiat currencies.