Trace the Journey of Money Through Time

Cowrie Currency

Cowry shell money was an important part of the trade networks of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia.

Cowries were naturally resilient, lightweight, and uniform in shape—ideal for trade

Shell beads currency

Archaeological and historical evidence indicates that the Chumash Indians employed shell beads as a form of currency for no less than 800 years

These beads not only facilitated economic transactions but also held cultural and social significance within their communities.

spade currency

Spade money was an early form of currency used in ancient China during the Zhou dynasty (circa 1045–256 BCE)

Shaped like agricultural tools—specifically spades or weeding implements—these bronze coins symbolized a transition from barter-based trade to standardized monetary systems

NEOLITHIC AGE (10,000–4,500 BC)

1000 BCE

7th century BCE- india

As early as 1000 BCE, the Zhou dynasty in China utilized bronze implements shaped like knives and spades as symbolic currency. These proto-monetary tools were preceded by cast bronze replicas of cowrie shells, a nod to earlier forms of exchange rooted in ritual and trade.

7th century BCE- india

In India’s Ganges River Valley, currency took the form of punched metal disks. These coins were not stamped but maintained uniform weight standards for consistent trade value .

7TH CENTURY BCE- china

7th century BCE- india

7TH CENTURY BCE- china

China’s Great Plain region saw the rise of cast bronze coins featuring central holes, allowing them to be easily strung together for transport and storage—an innovation that became characteristic of Chinese coinage

Across the Aegean sea

Parallel development of coinage

7TH CENTURY BCE- china

Across the Aegean, coins were produced by heating and stamping metal with insignia, marking the official endorsement of rulers and city-states. This process symbolized authority and helped authenticate transactions throughout the region

5th Century greece

Parallel development of coinage

Standardization of coins was essential for trade growth. In ancient Greece, for example, city-states began issuing their own coins. The Athenian silver coinage of the 5th century BCE became widely respected.

Parallel development of coinage

The variations in form, production technique, and symbolism among these regions suggest that early monetary systems evolved autonomously, driven by local needs, resources, and societal structures rather than a single, unified origin

PALEOLITHIC AGE (10,000 BC)

Lydia Currency 7 century bce

All modern coins, in turn, are descended from the coins that appear to have been invented in the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor somewhere around the 7th century BC. These coins spread throughout Greece in the following centuries.

Metallurgy

Lydia Currency 7 century bce

They were disk-shaped and made of gold, silver, bronze, or imitations thereof. Both sides bore an image produced by stamping, and one side often featured a human head.

Money in mediterranean

Maybe the first ruler in the Mediterranean known to have officially set standards of weight and money was Pheidon. Minting occurred in the late 7th century BC among the Greek cities of Asia Minor. It then spread to the Greek islands of the Aegean and to the south of Italy by 500 BC.

STAMPED MONEY

Money in mediterranean

The first stamped money—bearing the mark of some authority in the form of a picture or words—can be seen in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. It is an electrum stater coined at Aegina island, dating to about the 7th century BC

Chronicles of Money through Pictures

CHINESE BAMBOO WOODEN TALLY TOKEN

Some provinces in east China issued currency made from bamboo which was called bamboo tallies or tokens. The use of bamboo tallies as currency continued well into the 1900s.

CELTIC CURRENCY

CHINESE BAMBOO WOODEN TALLY TOKEN

Gold Ring Money – Penannular ring 1200-100 BC

Maybe used as a ‘proto-currency’ (a store of wealth) until well into the Late Iron Age

FANERY CURRENCY

MANILLA CURRENCY

Fanery is the traditional money used in Madagascar. It exists in silver, copper, nickel and aluminium forms and are found in various sizes. Apart from being used as an instrument, Fanery was also used as jewellery and medication.

MANILLA CURRENCY

Manillas are a form of commodity money, usually made of bronze or copper, which were used in West Africa. Originating before the colonial period, they are particularly associated with the Atlantic slave trade.

Trace the Journey of Money Through Time

Cowrie Currency

Shell beads currency

spade currency

spade currency

NEOLITHIC AGE (10,000–4,500 BC)

1000 BCE

7th century BCE- india

7th century BCE- india

7th century BCE- india

7th century BCE- india

7th century BCE- india

7TH CENTURY BCE- china

7th century BCE- india

7TH CENTURY BCE- china

Across the Aegean sea

Parallel development of coinage

7TH CENTURY BCE- china

5th Century greece

Parallel development of coinage

Parallel development of coinage

Parallel development of coinage

Parallel development of coinage

Parallel development of coinage

PALEOLITHIC AGE (10,000 BC)

Lydia Currency 7 century bce

Lydia Currency 7 century bce

Lydia Currency 7 century bce

Metallurgy

Lydia Currency 7 century bce

Lydia Currency 7 century bce

Money in mediterranean

Money in mediterranean

Money in mediterranean

STAMPED MONEY

Money in mediterranean

Money in mediterranean

Chronicles of Money through Pictures

CHINESE BAMBOO WOODEN TALLY TOKEN

CHINESE BAMBOO WOODEN TALLY TOKEN

CHINESE BAMBOO WOODEN TALLY TOKEN

CELTIC CURRENCY

CHINESE BAMBOO WOODEN TALLY TOKEN

CHINESE BAMBOO WOODEN TALLY TOKEN

FANERY CURRENCY

MANILLA CURRENCY

MANILLA CURRENCY

MANILLA CURRENCY

MANILLA CURRENCY

MANILLA CURRENCY

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