A Short History of Commerce

Monetary systems aren’t always based on coins. Many different forms of
exchange can be in use simultaneously. Take, for example, the real world around the
year 1200. Currency included the regulated gold and silver coins of Byzantium and
the Middle East, the licensed mints of England, the paper currency of China,
the cowrie shells of Oceania, and the carved stones of Aztec lands. These were
only a few forms money could take.

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