Banknotes and paper money (VIII-XX century)

The history of paper money is just as exciting and varied as the history of metallic money. At the beginning of the history of paper money, there were two forms of banknotes – a receipt and a promissory note.
The receipt was issued as a certificate that a specific amount of metallic money is in the banker’s custody. Over time, the receipt has become possible to transfer to another person. Later, the receipt acquired the form of a banknote, which documented the client’s right to receive the amount in the form of coins indicated on the banknote at any time. Over time, the debt receipt turned into public money, which, as a rule, could not be received in the form of coins, but which had to be accepted for payment by all public funds. In addition, there are still temporary paper money issued to compensate for the shortage of coins. Continue reading →