Deferred payment—using credit cards and checks instead of currency and coin—is a modern invention. But people have been using money, whether paper or metal, for a very long time. The Hebrew Bible mentions many different monetary denominations, and archaeologists frequently find coins and weights at dig sites. For centuries, ancient peoples exchanged goods by bartering or by weighing out precious metals or jewels as payment for purchases. Under the barter system, people exchanged goods and services with one another according to various rates. For example, one donkey was worth three sheep or fixing a plow was worth two large […]
