From the history of money: curiosities about coins and banknotes

We use it daily when we go to the market or cafe, we pay for the services or the transport fee. Moreover, without money, we could not talk about budgets, transfers, salaries, and even credits. However, have you ever thought, when did the first money appear and how did it evolve from the first precious metal coins to modern banknotes and bank cards? We invite you to find answers to all these questions and find out curious things about the first means of payment.

Before the advent of money, people traded by exchanging goods. This type of payment was known as “barter”. Animal hides, salt, wheat, and even cattle were the first “money” of the people of yesteryear, hard to transport and hard to count. In search of a more comfortable payment system, people came up with the idea of using small things as money, called “commodity money”. Thus, stones, ivory, animal teeth, and shells were used for payments. In our area, arrowheads were most common. Later, the first coins began to be made.

A journey into the world of coins

Precious metal coins were first minted in the city of Lydia in 640 BC from a special alloy of gold and silver. They had the same value as the precious metal from which they were made, and were marked with a king’s seal to guarantee their weight. Also, in the Greek colony appeared the first banker – Pythius. Each empire had its own mints and coins. The best-known coins in ancient Dacia were silver Drachma, gold Kosons and Republican denarii.

And speaking of coins, there were some really strange coins in some regions. A Greek legend says that one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece, Solon, minted a coin the size of the wheel of a chariot to wean the Greeks from collecting excess money. Giant coins were also used on Yap Island. To be transported, they had a special hole in the middle and were attached to a pole. The largest coin discovered on these territories was 3 meters in diameter and weighing up to 5 tons. They were kept in front of the house, as a sign of wealth.

When and where did the banknotes first appear?

The monetary system was one of the most successful means of payment. However, the use of metal money was problematic in the case of expensive goods, for which a large volume of coins was needed. Moreover, they were also a good target for thieves during transportation. As a solution, the first paper money appeared, originally called “paper money” or “representative money”. The founders of the first banknotes are considered the Chinese, who also invented paper.

The first banknotes worked in the following way: bankers or goldsmiths kept coins in safe places and issued some receipts, where they indicated the total amount of money. Over time, the issued papers began to be used as means of payment, and their use gave rise to the banknotes we know today. By the way, did you know that the largest paper banknote is of A4 sheet size and worth 100,000 Philippine pesos? And the world’s smallest banknote was issued in Morocco, the size of a postage stamp.

The Moldovan lei that we have today, were introduced into circulation only in 1993, being issued in the form of banknotes and coins. The ancestor of the lei is considered to be the Dutch thaler, which was engraved with a lion’s head, hence its name. Talers were used as a means of payment on the territory of Moldova and Wallachia in the seventeenth century.

“It’s not enough to have money, you have to know how to spend it”

Over time, money has gone through many forms and stages of development, making mankind fully understand its value and importance. From shells, stones, and coffee beans, to electronic money and bank cards, we have had thousands of years to go and who knows what lies ahead. One thing remains certain regardless of the period – the art of money management. It’s not an art to make money, but it’s an art to know how to manage it properly.

We urge you to manage your money correctly, whether it’s cash or electronic money. For more interesting details about financial education do not hesitate to be with #Microinvest_creditor_responsible throughout the International Financial Education Week. We have other interactive activities about money and credits on the list.

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Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APR) This is the total cost expressed as an annual percentage of the total amount of credit. The APR is there to help you compare different offers	%
In order to obtain the loan in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions, it is mandatory to conclude an insurance contract to guarantee the loan or a contract for another ancillary service.
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Any other costs deriving from the credit agreement	Fee for services rendered in relation to usage of credit, calculated and paid as follows: of the credit and paid by the Debtor on the date of granting the credit from own sources or is deducted by the Creditor from the amount of the credit The negotiation / prolongation of the credit can take place by mutual agreement of the parties, by signing an additional agreement, the Creditor being entitled to request an increase in the interest rate within the limits provided by the legislation in force. In case of negotiation / prolongation of the loan, the Borrower shall pay to the Creditor, at the date of the negotiation / prolongation a commission in the amount of 2% from the credit balance at the time of negotiation / prolongation.
Conditions under which the costs related to the credit agreement can be changed	The Sides can change the costs related to the credit by written agreement signed by both parties; For the non-constitution of the guarantees within the agreed term, the Creditor is entitled to calculate, and the Client will pay to the Creditor an Interest of delay in the amount of 5% annually, applied to of the daily balance for each day of delay, starting with the date following the term established for the constitution of the guarantee/ s and until the date of the proper execution of the respective obligation.
Obligation to pay for notarial fees / mortgage registration fees / fees for noting the prohibition of pledge in the Transport Register related to the pledge of means of transport (agricultural machinery)	Paid by the Client , except as otherwise provided in the pledge / mortgage agreement.
The cost for the valuation of real estate proposed in pledge	Paid by the Client directly to the Evaluator
Costs in the case of late payments Missing payments could have severe consequences for you (e.g. forced sale) and make obtaining credit more difficult
The repayment of the loan is free of charge in the secondary offices of the Creditor, as well as at the discretion of the Debtor through the representatives authorized to collect loan payments. The list of which and their fees are published on the website of the Creditor (www.microinvest.md/cum-achiti-creditul/). In case the Debtor use payment methods with fee, the Debtor cover all the costs of repayment of the loan and undertake to make the payments in such a way that the Creditor receives the agreed repayment amount and without any deductions by third parties processing the refund payment.
In accordance with and arising from the provisions of art. 15, para. 7), lit. a) from Law no. 202/2013, any payments related to the granted credit (commissions, taxes, penalties, late interest and any other type of payment), except interest, will be applied and collected within the limit of the ceiling of 0.04% of the total value of the credit per credit day multiplied by the number of days of actual use of the credit (hereinafter 'Ceiling'). Therefore, the Lender will be entitled to apply and collect the costs, excluding interest, exactly in the fixed or percentage amount established in the contract if the said ceiling allows, and if the ceiling is lower than the value of at least one cost, excluding interest, then the Lender will be entitled to reduce the fixed/percentage amount and apply and collect any of the applicable costs only within the limit of the ceiling value. When calculating the ceiling, the costs already applied and collected will be taken into account, with the exception of interest, which reduces its value. (Representative example: if the amount of the penalty is 20 MDL per day, and the ceiling value at that time is 16 MDL, then a maximum of 16 MDL will be collected).

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The creditor is entitled to compensation in the case of early repayment The Debtor may repay the loan in full or in part in advance, notifying the Creditor in writing 3 days in advance, and paying an early repayment fee of:	% from early repaid amount, if the period of time between the date of early repayment and convened maturity exceeds one year; % from early repaid amount.The early repayment can be made only if the Debtor has no outstanding debts on interest or other amounts to be paid in accordance with the Contract. % from early repaid amount, if the period of time between the date of early repayment and convened maturity does not exceed one year.
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In this regard, I subsequently declare that: I was provided with the necessary information, the essential characteristics of the above-mentioned credit product were explained (interest rate, number of commissions, credit costs, early repayment conditions, total amount to be paid), as well as the consequences of non-compliance with contractual clauses; the costs included in the total cost of the loan were explained to me, including the costs for ancillary services related to the credit agreement; I was offered the possibility to negotiate individually the contractual clauses in the credit agreement that I intend to sign, I negotiated individually the granting commission, the monthly commission, the amount of penalties and I mention that its clauses do not disadvantage me, being fair in the report mine with the creditor; I was asked by the creditor about the probable importance of the information provided and whether essential circumstances that I expected to be provided were not omitted in order to make an informed and rational decision about concluding the potential credit agreement. the information provided and the corresponding explanations allowed me to assess, including the personal analysis of other offers of third party creditors, whether the proposed credit agreement is tailored to my needs and financial situation; I know the content of the contract and all its conditions have been explained to me, I have understood and accepted them, and the documents and information underlying the conclusion of the contract are complete and accurate; I know the law, the normative acts that will govern the contract, as well as the lack of consumer quality; I have no ambiguities or misunderstandings regarding the terms of the contract; the credit product corresponds to the purpose described above and will be used according to the destination and the economic activity carried out. The assets procured/resulted/constructed/repaired from received loan sources will be registered/transmitted in the social capital of the company where my business activity is carried out and/or will be used jointly by the members or individually however strictly for running my business activity. (Signature)