Then about 1800 years ago, the Chinese invented paper. They began making money out of paper. The paper represented an amount of money, and could be redeemed for something valuable, like gold. There are now about 140 different kinds of money used in the world. When you go to other countries, you usually have to exchange your money for their kind of money at a bank before you can buy anything.
Money varies greatly in appearance from country to country.
On Yap Island in the Pacific Ocean, money is a stone with a hole in the middle. The people on Yap Island put a long pole inside the hole in the stone and roll it from place to place. Yap money stones can weigh up to 500 pounds and are sometimes 12 feet across. Ancient temples or churches were the first banks. Temples were the safest place to store money.