History of money – the 3 world firsts, all from China
From one researcher in our China Writers Group – Wei Ling Chua
1)The world first coin is from China Zhou Dynasty (1000BC): 3000 years ago.
2) world First digital currency (yuan) in the 21st century with interest incentive is also from China
3) China is also recognized as the first nation to create paper currency, with its usage beginning more than 600 years before it appeared in the West.
While Europe did not adopt paper money until the 17th century (Sweden in 1661), China introduced paper-based currency as early as the 7th century, with it becoming widespread in the 11th century.
Key Facts on the Origins of Paper Money
- Initial “Flying Money” (7th–9th Century AD): During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), merchants began using “flying money” (fei qian)—a type of promissory note or receipt of deposit designed to avoid carrying heavy copper coins over long distances.
- First Official Paper Money (11th Century AD): The Song Dynasty (960–1279) was the first to officially issue paper money, known as jiaozi, in the 11th century to facilitate trade and address copper shortages.
- Widespread Use (13th Century AD): By the time Marco Polo visited during the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), paper money was the primary currency.
- Comparison to the West: The first European bank to issue banknotes was Sweden’s Stockholms Banco in 1661, roughly 600 to 700 years after China’s initial widespread use of jiaozi.
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