History of Money

However, the use of proto-money may date back to at least 100,000 years ago, and the use of precious metals as money dates back at least 6000 years. The use of gold as money has been traced back to the fourth millennium B.C. when the Egyptians used gold bars of a set weight as a medium of exchange, as the Sumerians had done somewhat earlier with silver bars. Coins or at least minted tokens of a fixed value first appear in the 7th century BC in Greece. The first banknotes was used in China in the 7th century, and the first in Europe was issued by Stockholms Banco in 1661.