Introduction

The concept of the origin of money has been fraught with perpetual misunderstanding among all shades of economic thought. The exposition found in economic textbooks is drawn from one tradition, and with some slight variation of expression, has been recurring in numerous subsequent texts. Consequently, the formulation of the idea is uninformative, obscure and wrapped up in a great deal of mysticism. In spite of minor differences of interpretation, both the views expressed by either erudite economists or economics textbooks share an underlying core principle about the rise and origin of money.