How money is made

The origins of money can be traced back to thousands of years ago. While originally the system of money exchange involved commodities such as precious metals, wheat and barley and even beads, eventually a more abstract system was introduced that involved the exchange of tokens. Modern money, in fact, is essentially still a system of tokens. Here, we will be looking at just how money is made.

Overview

Nowadays, paper currency constitutes the most common sort of money. Nonetheless, in reality, the materials gold, silver and copper continue to represent a large proportion of physical money. The diverse methods involved in how money is created as well as the materials used in the process, have always been an integral part of money’s history. In fact, the production of coins as well as paper money can be a complicated process.

The making of coins

Coins were first introduced into our culture in the seventh century BC. Their original incarnation as metal objects has not changed much since then. This means that the process has always demanded a relative level of skill as well as the use of ever-developing technology. First, the metal has to be mined from its natural source from whence it can begin to be shaped into its final form. Consistency of production The process is no less complicated from here and involves the process of designing the coins before production can begin. Naturally, the area of quality control is a vital component in this process because every coin has to retain the consistency of design and production in order that each of them is identical. If not, their acceptance as being genuine will be put into question.

The production process

There exists two fundamental methods for the production of coins: striking and casting. In the West, the former method has traditionally been used - a method that involves striking the coins between engraved dies. While in the Far East and China, until very recently at least, coins were produced through casting them in moulds. Machine-made coins Just over two centuries ago, however, increasing demand led to the introduction of money-making machines. These machines were either the screw-press type or steam-powered. However, while the quantity of coins could now be significantly increased, these machines were initially relatively slow, which meant that the changes took a while to be widely adopted.

The production of paper money

The precision involved in making paper money is, of course, vital to the process. New ways are continually being introduced to eradicate the problem of counterfeiting. While initially the first notes were simply black and white, over the years, colour has been introduced to add to the increasingly complex and sophisticated designs.