The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-06-18
INuoNvERTrRLE ouRRENoY.
Ancient. .subStItute for tss Modern Green
back.

observation-disclosures FOR tsas Modern Green
back
Mr.. A. n. Bernardakis has published
valuable paper, in which he traces
the history Of inconvertible eurrencies
Ii. G., of currenoies without intrinsic
value-in Lacedemonia, Carthage,
Rome, Russia, China, Persia, etc.
The only difference between the moon
vertible currencies Of ancient times and
those Of our own is, that the latter are
in paper, the former were of parchment,
leather, small pieces Of skin, tin. pew
ter. iron, etc.
Eschines, the disciple of Socrates,
thus describes the money of the Car
thagenians
In small piece Of leather they en-
veloped a something of the size Of a
piece Of money equivalent to fOuI
draehmas but what is contained in the
envelope no one knows except those
who have manufactured it Once
sealed, they are put in circulation, and
the person who has the mo of them
Is considered to have most money, and
10 be the richest citizen. But, no mat
ter how many Of them one Of rs should
have, he would be no better OF than II
they were 50 many pebbles. In
ETHIOPIA, engraved stones are used as
money, but LacedemOnian coul Il make
no use Of them"
Aristides, the orator, says The
Byzantines coin iron, and the Carthage
mans stamped leather" The iron money
Of the Lacedemonians had some value !;
and the engraved stones of the Carths-
genians, though not precious stones,
were rare enough to endow them with
some also. That such money was
known in Rome is evident from the
words of Seneca " debtor is one
who owes gold, or leather struck with
public mark, such as was used by the
Lacedemonians, among whom it hello
the place of money" IsidOre of Sc
vile says '' It was of the skins of an
imals that money was cut and stamped.
In Russia skins we're at one time the
circulating medium. On account of
their inconvenience, the government
had small pieces cut out of them, and
then Withdrew the skins from circula-
tiOn, using the small pieces alone to
represent them-the skins themselves
remaining in the government treasury.
1t happened that the Russian govern
ment was once IN need of money, and,
as it could manufacture this species ca
silly and at little expense, it was er-
dcred that a number of skins should be
cut into small pieces. This was done,
the pieces of skin were sealed by the
government, and made to pass current
as money. At first these small pieces
of skin were redeemable in the wholes
from which they had been cut. Later,
when the needs of state demanded it,
they were made inconvertible.
In work containing fragments from
Alexandrian authors, edited by Huitche,
we read / am acquainted also with a
wooden talent at Antioch. As to the
wooden talent of Alexandria, it differs
about one-ffth from that of Antioch. >"
Here was money made of wood. Aris-
totle mentions a people who struck
iron money, and gave it circulation, es-
timating it as if it were so much silver.
In his Economies he cites the following
fact "Denys the Ancient, wanting
money, caused pewter money to be
struck, and convoking an assembly Of
the people, he spoke to them so favora-
bly, of the new money, that he persua-
ded the citizens TO employ it. Pollux
relates the same fact "Denys the
Ancient" " he says, "hRving had pewter
money struck, compelled the Syracu-
sans to use it instead of silver, and this
money was worth four attic drachmas
instead of one." The following fact is
also related by Aristotle: Timothy
the Athenian, being engaged in war
with the Olynthians and being in need
of money, had copper money struck,
and distributed it among the soldiers,
who became very indignant thereat.
He then told them, and the merchants
and all who were engaged in trade, to
90 on buying, that with the copper they
could purchase what they wanted and
that If any remained over beyond what
they needed for buyUg and selling he
would exchange it for silver. In Chin8,
paper money was known as far back as
the year 110 before Christ. Parchment
or pieces of card were used sometimes
instead of paper. They were provided
with the government seal, and we're
used generally in trading. Pieces OF
skin and pieces of bark also were made
to do service as money in the Celestial
Kingdom. A Mahommedan traveller,
Chuk-Iou Batoutah, who visited China
about the middle of the fourteenth cen
tury, SAYS Of the inhabitants - They
use in their commercial transactions
neither gold nor silver. They buy and
sell by means of pieces of paper. each
one of which is about the size of the
palm of your hand, and bears the mark
Of seal. Twenty-Five of these notes
are called bdlicht, which means a piece
of gold. When any one has mutiiated
bills oD his hands ne takes them to an
establishment like the mint. where,
upon surrerdering them, he gets new
ones in the place of them"