After reading the exhibition completely, you will find that today's financial technology innovation, whether it is blockchain or mobile payment, is the result of continuous updating, iteration and progress of two intertwined and different ancient systems-currency and record. All these technologies, even dating back to the first shell used as money and the contract printed on clay tablets, are based on and aimed at building social mutual trust.
Exhibition introduction
The development of money began with physical money such as shells, knife coins, barley and gold powder, and gradually evolved into credit certificates such as paper money, checks and credit cards.
chapter one
The essence of trust
(carrier of trust: currency)
The exhibits include interesting ancient coins from all over the world.
Shells in many parts of the world
Shell is the earliest form of currency and one of the most widely used currencies in the world. From China to Africa to Oceania, shells are the most commonly used currency. Even, many of the oldest Chinese characters related to money and value contain the word "Bei". In other places, other kinds of shells are also used as money. For example, the Iroquois made clams and moth shells into beads or shells.
Bronze shovel coins and knife coins, ancient China.
In ancient China and many other areas, bronze was regarded as a precious material, which was used to make valuables, such as sacrificial vessels and weapons. Therefore, bronze was gradually used as currency. But it is not so easy to cast metal into small disks. The shape of early copper coins in China was modeled after some precious and practical items, including shovels and knives.
Barley ancient Mesopotamia
Barley, as one of the main crops in ancient Mesopotamia, was also used as currency in the early days and traded in units called shekels by Akkadians. Of course, this unit was later used for silver coins, because the earliest coins were based on weight.
Jinfen Japan
The types of metals used to make money all over the world are basically the same, but their forms are quite different. In Japan before16th century, although silver coins appeared, gold was traded in the form of powder or flake, and was usually carried in a bag corresponding to the weight of the built-in gold.
Copper coins 1 1 century, China dinaos silver coins 1 century, Roman Empire.
The emergence of coins is an improvement on the basis of existing currency, but it is also a revolutionary progress. The value of metals such as gold and silver has been widely recognized, and the unification of form and weight makes it easier to measure metals, thus simplifying transactions. Coins appeared in India, China, Greece and Anatolia more than 2,500 years ago. By minting coins, the government can also control (or try to control) the money supply.
Pepper, European cinnamon, European and African salt, Africa
Centuries ago, spices, as high-value commodities, were sometimes used as money, especially when coins were in short supply. For example, in medieval Europe, pepper seeds were repeatedly used to pay rent, taxes, contracts and even ransom. Although it is difficult to tell the story of Rome paying soldiers with salt, in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, salt is indeed used as currency.
Silk porcelain
The "Silk Road" is worthy of its name: the high price and wide demand make silk easily become a universal medium of exchange. In the Han dynasty, soldiers were paid with silk, and thousands of silk were often used in government-to-government trade.
Cocoa beans in classical Central America
In Central America, chocolate is used in sacred ceremonies, and rulers and nobles are used to indulging in it. Cocoa beans are very valuable. According to the records of Tlaxcala 1545 in Mexico, a ripe avocado is worth one cocoa bean, a turkey egg is worth three cocoa beans, and a hare is worth 100 cocoa beans. At about the same time, the average daily salary of porters was about 100 cocoa beans.
chapter two
faithful record
(Trust witness: ticket)
The era of great navigation brought stocks, and the information age brought credit cards. Nowadays, technological progress is making mobile payment and life in inclusive finance within reach.
Sumer token Sumer
The invention of man's first writing system was attributed to shearing wool and keeping accounts. Mesopotamian cuneiform originated from the bookkeeping system, in which clay symbols of different shapes were used to record the inventory of goods, such as wool, sheep and oil. These clay symbols are usually sealed in a larger clay object or package. Later, these symbols were used to print clay tablets, leaving marks that eventually evolved into the original symbols in the cuneiform writing system.
British draft,1867; American invoice for goods, 1890
In the end, written records proved to be the most common and effective means to record transactions, assets, debts and liabilities. From the company's general ledger to personal bank statements and receipts, financial transaction records have various forms, but all of them are essentially for the same purpose: to create an indelible real transaction memory.
Five livres France, 1793 ten roubles Russia, 1909 ten Hong Kong dollars Hong Kong, 2007.
165438+The paper money invented by China in the 20th century originated from promissory notes, which combined money and records. From a piece of paper that can be exchanged for money to a piece of paper that is money, it is a short but bold conceptual leap with far-reaching influence. Paper money is a cheap material, which is easy to be forged. Therefore, the issuing agency of paper money must make every effort to ensure the integrity of money and the public's confidence in money. This has spawned a series of security innovations, including the use of special materials and inks, complex patterns, serial numbers and magnetic strips. Therefore, a new currency that is easy to use, transport and store has emerged.
Ration coupons in the mid-20th century, food stamps in China in the late 20th century, USA.
Although currency contains the meaning that almost everything can be freely exchanged, there are still some forms of currency that are restricted in design. Including tokens for a certain purpose, such as subway, train tickets, ration cards that can only be exchanged for certain commodities, temporary vouchers, and currency issued by the government and enterprises that can only be used in designated places.
American stock certificate
The earliest stock certificate appeared in1Holland at the beginning of the 7th century. On the surface, they are just pieces of paper, but they represent a breakthrough in financial technology: they can prove the partial ownership of enterprises or other risky projects and can be used for investment and free trading.
At the beginning of the 20th century, American cheques
Cheques originated from early bills of exchange and promissory notes, but as early as the18th century, they already showed some characteristics of modern cheques. Its name comes from checks, which was originally used to print checks, so that consumers can compress any amount of money on a piece of paper. In the mid-20th century, due to the acceleration of background processing, checks were widely used in the United States, once accounting for 85% of non-cash payments. However, checks are not popular in other parts of the world, and have been declining in the United States for many years.
Azerbaijan Century Credit Card 2 1
Credit cards were born out of a social embarrassment. 1949, when the businessman Frank Mc-Namara invited customers to dinner, he realized that he didn't have his wallet and couldn't pay the bill. In order to prevent this from happening again, he and several partners founded Diners Club, and the first credit card was born (originally made of cardboard instead of plastic). Soon after, other companies followed suit, and finally debit cards joined the competition. Today, some credit card companies have achieved global coverage, which is proved by the fact that the credit cards displayed here from Azerbaijan are printed with the same trademarks as those seen in the United States and Europe.
Alipay China
Alipay, a subsidiary of Ant Financial, is the world's largest mobile and online payment platform. Since its establishment in 2004, Alipay has reached cooperation with more than 200 financial institutions, providing payment services for nearly10 million small and micro businesses, and expanding its service scenarios. Alipay and its global partners serve 860 million users worldwide.
-The end-