terms of dollars as we do now, the party having all of these things for sale might offer the goat for 5 sheep, the ox for 10 sheep, the horse for 20 sheep, and the stack of fodder for 15 sheep. Each member of the community having sheep would then have to consider whether 5 sheep would be of greater value to him for purposes of trade or for other use than the goat; whether 10 sheep would be more useful than the ox, etc., and on the result of his judgment, in the bickerings with those making estimates and offers, would depend the agreement as to price. 2. Money funds must be uniform in quality. Since prices must be made and quoted in terms which will be understood by others, it becomes necessary to have some common standard of judgment in estimates of value. Without such a standard one trader would not be able to make himself understood by another. If I were to ask you the value of a certain piece of land, you would not be able to express your thought or conclusion in answer to the question unless you could appeal to some standard or measure of value which was known to me. The same is true in making a trade. In this case the one offering goods for sale does not volunteer his estimate of value, but by offering the goods for a definite sum of money both parties find in the price a common standard for judgment. Unless, however, the money funds in which the offer is made are uniform in quality there could be no judgment as to the relative value of the thing offered and of the price to be received. In other words, as between the various units which go to make up the money fund, the judgment of value must be practically the same. Without uniformity, such expressions as a dollar, a sheep, a bushel of wheat, or whatever the money used, would have no meaning at all. The thing used must likewise have such durability as to protect it from immediate decay. There must be no fear of loss or damage while the thing used is held in the form 3. Money of funds. Lack of durability would render uncertain all judgments of value for future use. It would make exchange itself so far a subject of chance as to render funds must impossible all estimates of an advantage to be "gained" from the business transaction. When calculation of value for future use is made difficult, exchange as a regular part of the industrial system must be hampered to like extent. have dura bility. admit of about. Money funds must be capable of being carried about or passed from one person to another without great inconvenience. Nothing can serve as money unless 4. Money the fund accumulated can be easily handled. funds must Lands, houses, and country estates can not be being carried used on this account. There are other qualities which may add to the value of a thing to be used as money, but the foregoing may be said to be necessary to adapt it to the purposes of exchange. Each and all of these qualities must be possessed in one degree or another. Some things are more easily carried about than others; others are more durable. Still others may be more uniform or more easily divisible, but no one of these characteristics can be wholly wanting in the thing used as money. The greater the degree in which all are present, the more serviceable will be the substance employed. THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN USED AS MONEY In a given community those things will be used for money which will give greatest ease to exchange. Among one people, each family may grow a little corn, may have a few horses or cattle, may possess various rude weapons or utensils for domestic use, may also have provided for themselves shelter. They, however, are a hunting people; meat is perishable; for long periods they may be entirely without corn. At times horses may be had, but they are not obtainable by all; weapons are in great variety and size, and adapted to the Skins. The tribe is migraAmong such a peo strength and skill of those using them. tory and often leaves shelter behind. ple the things best adapted to serve as money may be the skins of animals. Another people may live under quite similar conditions, except that they get a large part of their substance from fishing. With them the things that best lend Dried fish. themselves to use as money are dried and smoked fish or clams. These will last for years, and there is always a demand for them for food. When fish are scarce the dried products may be more highly valued; when plentiful, they may be prized less; but at all times they will have some value due to their usefulness and to the labor entailed in procuring more. Live stock. Under other circumstances a people may develop a pastoral life. With them their flocks and herds furnish that which serves them best as money. Many of our financial terms have come from such a practice: pecus was the Latin name for kine-cattle; pecunia came to be the Latin word for money; we have from this such words as pecuniary, pecunious, impecunious, peculation, speculation, etc. They counted their money (cattle) by the head (per capita), and their kine was their capital. Our money is our capital; our goods are our chattels; our kine are our cattle. In old England scot was a tax or fee; this presumably came from the Saxon scot, meaning cattle, and 66 scot" was used when taxes were paid in kind. Our expression, to go "scot free," comes directly from this use —that is, free from taxes or fine. In communities where agriculture prevailed, some forms of agricultural products were found to be most serviceable in making exchange; wheat, oats, and barley were used in Europe for centuries; maize was employed among the Indians of Central America; olive-oil, cakes of dried fruit, coconuts, and tea have served peoples where they were largely produced. Agricultural products. Advantages and disadvantages in the use of these forms of money. Both the advantages and disadvantages of the use of these primitive forms of money are apparent. By their use many of the economies of exchange were secured and many of the difficulties of barter were overcome; but still commerce could not be carried on with ease. All of the things used possessed the qualities essential to money, but none possessed them in high degree. All had qualities which caused them to be valued, but judgments of value varied widely with each individual. All admitted of division, but division, in most cases, could not be made with exactness. There was little uniformity, therefore judgment as to the value of a unit of kind was hampered. Their durability was not great. Many of them could not easily be passed about from hand to hand. Yet, with all these faults and disadvantages, they were the best that the people using them could provide; it required centuries of social and industrial progress for these peoples to acquire those things that would serve them better. The base metals. Every increased facility given to exchange gives a wider range to social, political, and industrial activity. With the growth of intelligence, with the higher development of industrial processes, with the growth of artistic skill, metals are brought into use which possess qualities better adapted to serve as funds. Copper, tin, iron, zinc, brass, and other alloys, came to have currency. When these were comparatively scarce, and at the same time were to be had in such quantities as to allow of the accumulation of "funds" sufficient to serve the community in exchange, they were so far superior to agricultural products that the latter became supplanted. Iron was at one time used; but when iron came to be so plentiful that it was used for weapons, household implements, plowshares, etc., the estimate placed on the value of iron, as compared with other things, was so small that one could not easily accumulate and carry about a fund large enough to make |