MONEY IN THE PAST

Money was very different in ancient times. Most cultures didn’t use paper money or coins as people do today. Many cultures used a currency based on food. For example, in ancient times, salt was very valuable. From East Africa to Europe, the Roman Empire used salt as a form of money. Roman soldiers were paid in blocks of salt. The word ‘salary’ comes from the Latin word for salt. In Central America, cocoa beans were the currency. One large tomato or avocado was worth one cocoa bean. For three cocoa beans, a person could buy an egg. Wealthy people could buy one turkey for one hundred beans. In Asia, they used rice. Japanese samurai counted their wealth in ‘koku’, a measurement of rice. The country of Japan was worth 28 million koku. Burma and the Philippines also used rice as money. In Mongolia, tea bricks were used. People could brew the tea or eat the leaves for nutrition. Lastly, many different kinds of spices were used for money. In Europe, pepper corn was popular. Landlords often collected rent using pepper. Local villages would pay in pepper if they didn’t have enough coins. Merchants traded in it as well. Other spices that were used for money were cinnamon, nutmeg and saffron. While Italians liked spices as well, they preferred to trade in Parmigiano cheese.