Welcome to this course on the history of money. As the title suggests, we will explore the historical evolution of currencies from the Neolithic era to the present day, by examining the major empires and civilizations of the past.

However, this course is not limited to a simple chronology of dates or historical events. Rather, our primary aim is to provide an in-depth understanding of the fundamental concepts involved in the emergence of money and monetary systems.

We will examine the emergence of currencies, monetary systems, banks, paper money, central banks, and finally, the current "fiat" monetary system.

We begin our journey with proto-currencies, examining the emergence of debt-money and units of account in Mesopotamia, as well as other systems like dowry and blood money in primitive societies. We'll also see how sophisticated monetary systems already existed in ancient Egypt, well before the Middle Kingdom.

We then move on to the appearance of the first coins in Lydia, a key moment often regarded as the true beginning of money in economics textbooks. We'll examine how these coins spread through the empires of the Persians, Alexander the Great, and Rome, before eventually achieving dominance and then collapsing.

From there, we will take the time to reflect on the very definition of money, moving beyond preconceived notions such as "money is always a debt" or "money is always a commodity". In reality, money is both a good and a social convention. We will discuss the concept of the money premium and attempt to unify the various theories that explain the emergence of money.

We then turn to a turbulent period marked by monetary instability, which nevertheless saw striking innovations like the English penny—used to bribe Danish invaders—and Charlemagne's pound, the legacy of which still persists today.

We'll also explore how the Crusades spurred the development of the first remote money transfer systems. Next, we'll look at the impact of the Florin, the currency that fueled the Renaissance, and the influx of precious metals from the Americas, which had a profound effect on European prices.

We'll examine in detail the advent of paper money and central banking, drawing parallels with the history of financial crises and their often violent repercussions.

Finally, we'll connect these historical threads to our contemporary monetary system, exploring its consequences and tracing the history of finance to better understand the origins of today's welfare state.

As a bonus, we'll also un the many fascinating etymological links related to money that continue to influence our daily lives and languages.

This course is divided into three major parts.

Thank you, and enjoy the course!