From: jtem01@gmail.com   
      
    SolomonW wrote:   
      
   > This this depends on what we define as money.   
      
   "Trade" has existed as far back as we can tell. It   
   was a barter system... "I'll give you a goat, you   
   give me the axe." Egypt had trade, the ancient world   
   had markets & exchanges going back well before   
   money.   
      
   Gold was a commodity that was exchanged for other   
   goods.   
      
   Eventually "Money" came about. Now, even in the   
   case of hard currencies -- gold & silver -- the   
   old barter system is gone. You're no longer trading   
   for a commodity. The coins, the money are no longer   
   something tangible, they REPRESENT value. In other   
   words, you're no longer after the gold, you're   
   after what the gold represents.   
      
   Money is a concept. It represents value or things.   
   If I give you a million dollars it's not the physical   
   money that I'm giving you -- it's just paper -- it's   
   the homes, the cars & vacations that the money   
   represents.   
      
   A billion dollars is a concept. It's "Freedom." It's   
   "Luxury." It's not a thing. At some point they stopped   
   trading metal and started trading VALUE and THAT'S   
   when money was born. That's when they started minting   
   coins.   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
   -- --   
      
   http://jtem.tumblr.com/post/177798996156   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)