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Money — The story everyone believes
Front
Money Sense0001
Money
The story everyone believes
Anything a group of people agree to accept in exchange for things.
I · You02 / 53
Back
0001 · The Primer02 / 53
On the island of Yap, money was stone wheels taller than a person. Nobody moved them. Ownership passed by word of mouth. One wheel sank in the ocean. Its owner kept spending it. Everyone agreed it still counted.
- Money is an agreement. It works because everyone says it works.
- Read the text on any Indian banknote. It says "I promise to pay the bearer." It is a promise.
SourceFurness, The Island of Stone Money (1910)
RBI note text
RBI note text
Keep exploring
Because you read Money.
Money Sense0002
Barter
The deal before money
Swapping one thing directly for another, with no money in between.
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Money Sense0013
Taxation
The membership fee for everything shared
A share of what people earn and spend, collected to pay for shared things.
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Money Sense0003
Inflation
The tax on your piggy bank
The slow loss of what money can buy, year after year.
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Read as a trail · 7 cards · 4 min
Understanding MoneyA short route through the machinery behind everyday money.