Trading the baker some fish for bread is an example of barter, the direct exchange of one good for another. However, barter is difficult when you try to obtain a good from a producer that doesn't want what you have. The series of trades required to obtain shoes could be complicated and time consuming. Early societies faced these problems. The solution was money .
Money is an item, or commodity, that is agreed to be accepted in trade.
Over the years, people have used a wide variety of items for money, such as seashells, beads, tea, fish hooks, fur, cattle and even tobacco. Most early cultures traded precious metals. In 2500 B.C. the Egyptians produced metal rings for use as money. By 700 B.C., a group of seafaring people called the Lydians became the first in the Western world to make coins. Coins were appealing since they were durable, easy to carry and contained valuable metals.