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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 4721553" data-attributes="member: 19675">True, but currency that has value seperate and distinct from its intrinsic value- say, because its made of something rare- is not a prerequisite for civilizations advanced beyond the stone age.Things like ingots and hacksilver depend on the intrinsic value of the substance out of which they are made.Counters, promissory notes and the like were stand-ins for large/bulky and generally immovable items of value.  They worked like transfers of title, but were not true currency.True currencies have attributes that charge them with value beyond their components.  A Roman coin might have more value than an Indian coin of the same era because of Rome's political stability and the general purity of the metals the coins were made of (making them a known quantity to moneychangers).  In addition, an otherwise valuable currency may be virtually worthless if it has an image on it that is held in political disfavor- a heretical fallen theocrat, an overthrown dynasty, etc.A promise, an IOU, or anything the 2 people agree as being of value could be the basis for the exchange that results in the client getting fed.  Dude X gets fed because his barley harvest in 3 months will be used by the innkeeper to make soup for 9 months after that.  Dude Z gets fed because he saved the inkeeper's only son from the river 2 years ago.IOW, whatever works.Consider that even today, there are wilder parts of Alaska and Canada in which checks that cannot be redeemed by any bank- they're decades old, and some of the banks and some of the signatories are dead- are used as promissory notes.</blockquote>

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