Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-01-21

Who invented paper meney? Th 1t
question has been much diScus ssed of late
| The idea seems 10 have originated in
China, where so many important inven
tons were made. Marco Polo, who lived
about A. d. 1875, at the court of the Khan
of rartary, whose dominion then included
great part of China, tells US that the
monarch was thorough going greenback-
er. Marco does not indeed use that word
but he so describes the money manuftc-
tured by the grand khan. rs to show that
he practiced the system recon- mended by
the greenbackers of the present day. He
made his money from the thin inner bark
OF the mulberry tree, which being stepped
and pOurded in u mortar to II pulp, was
converted into strong black paper. This
paper he cut into oblong pieces of differ
ent Sizes the smallest to represent cent
or twa. the next sixpence, and so on up to
AS much as ten dollars The stamping of
this money was done with as much form
and ceremony as if it had been of pure
gold or silver.
"A number Of officers specially appoint
ed" says Polo, mot only subscribed their
names but affixed their signet also; and
then The principal officer. having dipped
into vermilion the royal seal committed
to his custody, stamps with it the piece
of papers, that the form of the seal tinged
with vermlion remains impressed upon
it, by which it receives its full authenticity
rs current money, and the act of counter
tciting it is punished as a capital offence. Z"
The grand khan made this money a e-
gal tender, and if any man presumed to
refuse it in paymeat of debt, the mon
arch had his head cut off When the
money became damaged or worn. the
holder could carry it to the mint and re-
ceive in exchange fresh notes, the khan
retaining three per cent of the amount to
pay the expenses of manufacture. Ifany
one desired gold or silver to make into
drinking cups or Sirdles he could buy it
at the mint with these black paper notes.
His majesty paid his soldiers and servants
with this currency. Marco Polo was of
the opinion that the grand khan has as
good as discovered the philosophers stone
and had more extensive command of
treasure than any other sovereign in the
world.
1t is to be feared that we moderns would
object to paying three per cent for the ex-
change of our old notes 1t is calculated
that Il fivedollar gold piece circulates
eighteen years without losing by wear
more than ten cents worth of gold.
Of late the subject of money has been
more generally and more nteligenty
studied than ever before. Of one thing
we may be sure: No natien has perfect
system of money, think it highly prob
able that there is a certain small portion
of truth in the ideas of our greenbackcrs,
which will finally he embodied in our Pc
cuniary system. Whenever that system
has been put to u severe test, as in war or
during commercial! panics, it has broken
down. believe it is written within the
compass of human ingenuity to invent n
financial method which shall prove ade,
quatc in every emergency.
1t is curious thing that the origin of
the word money is still uncertain. Web
ster derives it from Moneta, one of the
names of Juno, in whose temple at Rome
money was coined That seems very
improbable derivation. A better conjec-
lure is that it comes from an Anglo-Saxon
word, mynegian, which signifies to mark,
In case any reader should ever have
million gold coins to count, will mention
II short and neat way of doing it. Count
fifty of them and put them in scale; bal
ance that fifty with an equal weight of
coin; then place the whole in one scale,
and balance again from the heap. Keep
this up u few minutes, doubling every
time, and your million is counted. That
is my tavorite way of counting my mil
lions; and can also recommend it as the
mode sometimes practiced by dealers in
the article.--N Y Ledder.