ABSTRACT
A b a n k er was originally, what many ignorant people imagine him to be still, a person who took care of valuables, especially money, for others. In England the earliest bankers were the London goldsmiths. From the nature of their trade the goldsmiths had strong rooms and watchmen, and it became usual for them to undertake the charge of their customers* gold and silver, for which service a payment was made. The practice of depositing valuables with the goldsmiths is said to have become very general during the insecurity of the Civil War. The goldsmiths used to give a receipt for the coin deposited with them and these receipts began to pass from person to person instead of the coin which they represented. In time the acknowledgments were printed in a set form, the goldsmith undertaking to pay in coin on demand the sum named to “ bearer ” (i.e., any person who presented the form). The goldsmith's receipt had developed into a bank note.
