MONEY

M O N E Y

Although China was the first country to use recognizable coins, the first minted coins were created not too far away in Lydia (now western Turkey).
In 600 B.C., Lydia's King Alyattes minted the first official currency. The coins were made from electrum, a mixture of silver and gold that occurs naturally, and stamped with pictures that acted as denominations. In the streets of Sardis, circa 600 B.C., a clay jar might cost you two owls and a snake. Lydia's currency helped the country increase both its internal and external trade, making it one of the richest empires in Asia Minor. It is interesting that when someone says, "as rich as Croesus", they are referring to the last Lydian king who minted the first gold coin. Unfortunately, minting the first coins and developing a strong trading economy couldn't protect Lydia from the swords of the Persian army.
Just when it looked like Lydia was taking the lead in currency developments, in 600 B.C., the Chinese moved from coins to paper money. By the time Marco Polo visited in 1,200 A.D., the emperor had a good handle on both money supply and various denominations. In the place of where the American bills say, "In God We Trust," the Chinese inscription warned, "All counterfeiters will be decapitated."

Europeans were still using coins all the way up to 1,600, helped along by acquisitions of precious metals from colonies to keep minting more and more cash. Eventually, the banks started using bank notes for depositors and borrowers to carry around instead of coins. These notes could be taken to the bank at any time and exchanged for their face values in silver or gold coins. This paper money could be used to buy goods and operated much like currency today, but it was issued by banks and private institutions, not the government, which is now responsible for issuing currency in most countries.

The first paper currency issued by European governments was actually issued by colonial governments in North America. Because shipments between Europe and the colonies took so long, the colonists often ran out of cash as operations expanded. Instead of going back to a barter system, the colonial governments used IOUs that traded as a currency. The first instance was in Canada, then a French colony. In 1685, soldiers were issued playing cards denominated and signed by the governor to use as cash instead of coins from France.

T E X T C O M P R E H E N S I O N

01-The first minted coin developed in _________________.

a)Turkey b)China c)France d)Japan e)Canada

02-Check the correct sentence according to the text:

a)Sardis lies in China

b)paper money originated in Italy

c)Alyattes minted the first gold coins

d)Electrum was the name of the first coins

e)Croesus was the king of Lydia

03-Choose the synonym of the underlined word:

* Eventually, the banks started using banknotes

a)presently b)nowadays c)incredibly d)finally e)originally

04-The first official currency originated in _________________.

a)USA b)Japan c)France d)Canada e)Turkey

05-Choose the correct word to complete each sentence:

Turkey

China

lion

king

I- The first gold coin was minted in _____________.

II- The paper money was first developed in ___________.

III- The first official currency was minted by ___________Alyettes

IV- The first coin ever minted featured a _____________.

*The correct sequence of words is:

a)king, lion, Turkey, China

b)king, lion, China, Turkey

c)Turkey, China, king, lion

d)Turkey, China, lion, king

e)China, Turkey, king, lion