History of Money

Money has been around for a long time, and some would argue since the beginning of time. Money is so common that everyone has experience with it and likely interacts with it on a daily basis. This familiarity does not, however, mean that money is universally understood. The International Monetary Fund describes money as anything that serves as a (1) Store of Value, which means people can save it and use it later (2) Unit of Account, that is, it provides a common base for prices (3) Medium of Exchange, something that enables people to buy and sell from one another