The diversity of early monetary systems

The currencies of today grew out of the ancient Greco-Roman coinage system. The same is true of the Islamic monetary system, which – mediated through the Byzantine and Sassanid empires – too had its roots in the old Mediterranean world.

But aside from that we have monetary systems with quite different roots: The Chinese coinage derived from a system based on metal spades and knives. For about two thousand years cast bronze coins with a hole at the centre served as the main form of money. India once had a tradition of its own based on punch-marked metal plates, but the system came to an end already under the successors of Alexander the Great (336–323 BC). In many parts of Africa and Asia ingots, cowrie shells and other valuables served as a means of payment. It was only during the colonial era of the 19th and 20th centuries that the Greek-European system began its spread to all four corners of the world.