The History of Money

Compiled by Ellen Terrell
Business Reference Services
April 2006

Table of Contents

Introduction
Internet Resources
Print Resources
LC Catalog Searches

Image (Left): Desert gold coinage, 1849-1860 - $2 1/2, $5, $10, and $20. Engraving by Charles B. Hall, N. Y.
Prints and Photographs Division (Library of Congress)
Reproduction number: LC-USZ62-70594

Introduction

This guide describes selected general sources on the history of money, including online and print resources, and also provides links to relevant subject searches in the Library of Congress online catalog. The guide is not limited to any particular currency or country. For information on United States money, please see United States Money: a Guide to Information Sources.

While the guide includes some mention of issues such as exchange rates and more technical and theoretical issues such as the gold standard or the collection of money, these topics are not the focus of the guide and are not covered in depth.

If you have any further questions, please Ask A Librarian.

Please note: Documents cited on this Web site may be offered in several formats. To view PDF documents, a free viewer is available for download from Adobe Acrobat.

Internet Resources

The ANA works to make collecting safe and enjoyable by providing consumer awareness programs, educational resources and services including fraud alerts and a loss alert and reward program. The organization sponsors a Money museum and the ANA Journal, a quarterly publication devoted to advanced studies in numismatics.

According to its web site, "The mission of the American Numismatic Society is to be the preeminent national institution advancing the study and appreciation of coins, medals and related objects of all cultures as historical and artistic documents, by maintaining the foremost numismatic collection and library, by supporting scholarly research and publications, and by sponsoring educational and interpretive programs for diverse audiences." The site features information along with a few selected images of coins in its collections which include Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, East Asian, South Asian, Medieval, United States, Modern, and Latin American coins.

This site features a repository of coins previously featured in major numismatic auctions. It brings together the text, images, and prices realized from catalogs. Includes a section on Ancient Coins and one on World Coins.

An online exhibit of Coins of Colonial and Early America and Colonial Currency in the Department of Special Collections of the University of Notre Dame Libraries.

Based on the book A History of Money from Ancient Times to the Present Day, by Glyn Davies. (See below under Print Resources.) This site gives a general time line of the history of money beginning in 9,000 BC, basic information, as well as page references to the book.

A very general timeline that is part of NOVA's special "Secrets of Making Money."

Wikipedia is an interactive encyclopedia which includes numerous introductory pieces on various aspects of money and currency, including topics specific to particular currencies, time periods, and countries. Entries often include a general overview as well as links to related terms and external sources. The entry for Currency includes links to countries and their currencies as well information on Historic Currencies, and a link to some historical exchange rates. Also of interest is the Wikipedia entry on Money.

Includes links to various subcategories for history, mints, United States, central banking, local currency systems, numismatics, and digital money.

Print Resources

Armentrout, Patricia. The History of Money. Vero Beach, Fla. : Rourke Press, c1996. 24 p.
LC Call Number: HG221.5 .A69 1996
LC Catalog Number: 96004575

Examines the history of money, including the barter system, early trade in North America, unusual types of money such as huge stone disks and salt bars, and the first paper money.

Chown, John. A History of Money : From AD 800. London ; New York : Routledge, 1994. 306 p.
LC Call Number: HG231.C46 1994
LC Catalog Number: 93031293

Cribb, Joe and Elizabeth Errington. Money : A History. edited by Jonathan Williams. New York : St. Martin's Press, 1997. 256 p.
LC Call Number: HG231.M585
LC Catalog Number: 96035188

Davies, Glyn. A History of Money : From Ancient Times to the Present Day. 3rd Cardiff : University of Wales Press, 2002. 720 p. Excerpts online at the author's web site.
LC Classification: HG231 .D244 2002
LC Catalog Record: 2004351226

Del Mar, Alexander. History of Monetary Systems: Record of Actual Experiments in Money Made by Various States of the Ancient and Modern World, as Drawn from Their Statutes, Customs, Treaties, Mining Regulations, Jurisprudence, History, Archaeology, Coins, Nummulary Systems, and Other Sources of Information. Chicago, C. H. Kerr & Company, 1895. 444 p.
LC Call Number: HG231.D26
LC Catalog Number: 06017036

Pick, Franz and René Sédillot. All the Monies of the World; A Chronicle of Currency Values. [2d ed.] New York, Pick Pub. Corp. [1971] 613 p.
LC Call Number: HG216.P614
LC Catalog Number: 72154984

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Coins and Currency : an historical encyclopedia. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., c2003. 562 p.
LC Call Number: CJ59 .S66 2003
LC Catalog Number: 2003009256
Table of contents

Entries cover people, places, and terms associated with money thru history. Includes a timeline, bibliography, index. The entry for World Currency goes by nation/place and gives the currency name and symbol as well has having a list by coin name.

Standard catalog of world coins. 1901-2000. Iola, WI : Krause Publications, c2006- present.
LC Call Number: CJ1755 .K72
LC Catalog Number: 2007213702

Standard catalog of world paper money. Vol. 1, Specialized issues. Iola, WI : Krause Publications : Munich : Battenberg Verlag, c1984- present.
LC Call Number: HG353 .S674
LC Catalog Number: 2001203553

Standard catalog of world paper money. Vol. 2, Specialized issues. Iola, WI : Krause Publications : Munich : Battenberg Verlag, c1982- present.
LC Call Number: HG353 .S675
LC Catalog Number: 2001203452

Standard catalog of world paper money. Vol. 3, Specialized issues. Iola, WI : Krause Publications : Munich : Battenberg Verlag, c1984- present.
LC Call Number: HG353 .S676
LC Catalog Number: 98646908

Weatherford, Jack. The History of Money : From Sandstone to Cyberspace. New York : Crown Publishers, c1997. 288 p.
LC Call Number: HG231.W4
LC Catalog Number: 96049432
Publisher's Description

LC Catalog Searches

Additional works on the subject of money in the Library of Congress may be identified by searching the Online Catalog under appropriate Library of Congress subject headings. Choose the topics you wish to search from the following list of Library of Congress subject headings to link directly to the Catalog and automatically execute a search for the subject selected. Please be aware that during periods of heavy use you may encounter delays in accessing the catalog. For assistance in locating the many other subject headings which relate to this topic, please consult a reference librarian.

• Coinage
• Coinage--History
• Money
• Money--History
• Paper money