A BRIEF HISTORY OF MONEY ==
Author: ELVIO ARMANDO TUOTO ==
Money may be defined as any common medium of exchange
acceptable in payment for goods or services or for the settlement of debts. The history of money begins with the invention of metallic coins in the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia 3000 years ago. The Chinese introduced coinage in the Eastern world in the second millennium BC. Metallic coins supported the development of classical Greek and Roman civilizations. The use of paper money is related to shortages of metal for coins. In the 600s there were local issues of paper currency in China and by 960 the Song Dynasty issued the first comprehensive circulating notes.In Europe the first banknotes were issued by Stockholms Banco, in 1660. The Bank of Venice (1171), The Bank of Barcelona (1401), the Bank of Amsterdam (1609), and the Bank of England (1694) were ancestors of the modern banks. Nowadays, paper money is giving way to cybermoney or electronic cash, which probably will transform the international economy. Philosophers asseverate that money has played a definite role in changing man's inner world - his interests, ideals, aspirations and moral criteria. Money has modified the system of humans values, assigning itself a central role as a universal value. ==
MAJOR WORLD CURRENCIES- Argentina: Peso; Australia: Australian Dollar; Brazil: Real; Canada: Canadian Dollar;
China: Renminbi (Yuan); Eurozone: Euro; India: Indian Rupee; Japan: Japanese Yen; South Korea: South Korean Won;
Switzerland: Swiss Franc; United Kingdom: Pound Sterling: United States: US Dollar; Pakistan: Pakistan Rupee; Uruguay: Peso.