From: buzzard554@fastmail.co.uk   
      
   On 9/6/2018 6:37 PM, Oh so rich & successful JTEM wrote:   
   >   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.   
   >   
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   > -- --   
   >   
   > http://jtem.tumblr.com/post/177798996156   
   >   
   Presumably it became money because large values were transportable, and   
   it does not corrode.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)