A reading room on the history of money

Knowlesta

From c. 3200 BC to 2024

Timeline

From the earliest written accounts to the European rules of 2024, in 71 dated entries. Early dates are approximate and marked with “c.”.

Clay, silver and the first coins c. 3200 BC – 200 BC

  1. c. 3200 BC

    Accounts at Uruk

    Proto-cuneiform tablets in southern Mesopotamia record barley, livestock, textiles and workers’ rations. Much of the earliest writing is bookkeeping. Read: Before Coins: Credit, Tallies and Clay

  2. 3rd millennium BC

    Silver by weight

    In Mesopotamia, silver weighed in shekels becomes a common unit of account, while many debts are settled in barley or labour. Read: Before Coins: Credit, Tallies and Clay

  3. c. 1754 BC

    The Laws of Hammurabi

    The Babylonian king’s laws include rules on loans of grain and silver, interest and failed harvests. Read: Before Coins: Credit, Tallies and Clay

  4. c. 1600–1046 BC

    Cowries in Shang China

    Cowrie shells are prized and exchanged in Shang dynasty China; later Chinese characters for wealth and value include the sign for a shell.

  5. c. 650–600 BC

    The first coins

    Electrum pieces of standard weight, stamped with designs, are struck in Lydia and the Greek cities of Ionia. Read: The Invention of Coinage in Lydia

  6. c. 560–546 BC

    Croesus of Lydia

    Tradition credits King Croesus with separate coins of gold and silver in place of the mixed alloy electrum. Read: The Invention of Coinage in Lydia

  7. From c. 6th century BC

    Punch-marked coins in India

    Silver coins stamped with several small symbols circulate in northern India, apparently developed independently of Greek coinage. Read: The Invention of Coinage in Lydia

  8. Late 6th century BC

    The owls of Athens

    Athens begins issuing silver coins with the head of Athena and her owl, among the most widely used coins of the Greek world. Read: The Invention of Coinage in Lydia

  9. c. 500 BC

    The Persian daric

    Under Darius I, the Persian Empire issues a gold coin showing the king as an archer. Read: The Invention of Coinage in Lydia

  10. 221 BC

    One coin for China

    After unifying China, the Qin dynasty standardises a round bronze coin with a square hole, a shape that lasts for two thousand years. Read: The Invention of Coinage in Lydia

  11. c. 211 BC

    The Roman denarius

    Rome introduces the silver denarius, which remains its principal silver coin for centuries.

Paper, banks and ledgers 800 – 1700

  1. 9th century

    Flying money

    Merchants in Tang China deposit coins in one place and receive certificates redeemable in another. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  2. 1024

    The first government paper money

    The Song government issues official jiaozi notes in Sichuan, replacing receipts issued by private houses. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  3. 1160

    The huizi

    The Southern Song introduces a new paper note, later issued in growing quantities to pay for war. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  4. c. 1179

    The tally described

    Richard FitzNeal’s Dialogue concerning the Exchequer explains how England’s royal tally sticks are notched and split. Read: Before Coins: Credit, Tallies and Clay

  5. 1202

    Numbers for merchants

    Leonardo of Pisa’s Liber Abaci teaches Hindu-Arabic numerals and commercial arithmetic to European readers. Read: Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the Merchants of Venice

  6. 1252

    The florin

    Florence strikes the gold florin, which becomes a standard coin of European commerce.

  7. 1260

    Kublai Khan’s notes

    The Yuan government issues the Zhongtong chao and makes paper the main money of the empire. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  8. 1284

    The ducat

    Venice issues its gold ducat, used across the Mediterranean for centuries.

  9. c. 1300

    Marco Polo on paper money

    The Venetian’s account describes notes made from mulberry bark and stamped with the Great Khan’s seal. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  10. 1340

    Double entry in Genoa

    The ledgers of the commune of Genoa are kept in a complete double-entry system. Read: Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the Merchants of Venice

  11. 1375

    Ming paper money

    The Ming dynasty issues the Da Ming Baochao, notes that cannot be exchanged for metal and gradually lose acceptance. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  12. 1407

    Banco di San Giorgio

    The Bank of Saint George is founded in Genoa to manage the city’s public debt.

  13. 1494

    Pacioli’s Summa

    A mathematical encyclopaedia printed in Venice includes the first printed treatise on double-entry bookkeeping. Read: Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the Merchants of Venice

  14. 1609

    The Bank of Amsterdam

    The Amsterdam Exchange Bank is founded to provide reliable accounts for merchants in a city full of foreign coins.

  15. 1661

    Europe’s first banknotes

    Stockholms Banco issues credit notes in place of Sweden’s heavy copper plate money. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  16. 1668

    The Riksbank

    After the failure of Stockholms Banco, the Swedish parliament founds a bank of its own, the oldest central bank still operating. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  17. 1690

    Bills of credit in Massachusetts

    The Massachusetts Bay Colony issues paper bills to pay soldiers back from an expedition against Quebec. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  18. 1694

    The Bank of England

    The Bank is founded to lend to the government during war with France, and issues notes against its deposits. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

The age of gold 1700 – 1971

  1. 1717

    Newton fixes the guinea

    Isaac Newton’s report as Master of the Mint leads to a rate for the gold guinea that sets Britain drifting onto gold. Read: The Gold Standard and Its End in 1971

  2. 1720

    John Law’s system collapses

    The French bank and trading company built by the Scottish financier fail, leaving a lasting distrust of paper money in France. Read: Paper Money, from Song China to Europe

  3. 1776

    The Wealth of Nations

    Adam Smith publishes his inquiry, including the influential story of money arising from barter. Read: Before Coins: Credit, Tallies and Clay

  4. 1792

    The US Coinage Act

    Congress establishes the United States Mint and defines the dollar in gold and silver.

  5. 1821

    Gold payments resume

    The Bank of England again pays its notes in gold after the suspension that began in 1797. Read: The Gold Standard and Its End in 1971

  6. 1826

    The last tallies

    The English Exchequer stops using notched tally sticks. Read: Before Coins: Credit, Tallies and Clay

  7. 16 October 1834

    Parliament burns

    Burning the old tallies in a furnace beneath the House of Lords starts the fire that destroys most of the Palace of Westminster. Read: Before Coins: Credit, Tallies and Clay

  8. 1844

    The Bank Charter Act

    Beyond a fixed amount, Bank of England notes must be matched by gold in its vaults. Read: The Gold Standard and Its End in 1971

  9. 1871–1873

    Germany adopts gold

    The new German Empire moves to the gold standard, followed by much of Europe. Read: The Gold Standard and Its End in 1971

  10. 1900

    The Gold Standard Act

    The United States puts the gold standard into law. Read: The Gold Standard and Its End in 1971

  11. 1910

    The Island of Stone Money

    William Henry Furness III publishes his account of the rai stones of Yap. Read: The Stones of Yap and Money as Memory

  12. 1913

    The Federal Reserve

    The Federal Reserve Act creates the central banking system of the United States.

  13. 21 September 1931

    Britain leaves gold

    During the Great Depression, Britain suspends the gold standard it had restored in 1925. Read: The Gold Standard and Its End in 1971

  14. July 1944

    Bretton Woods

    Forty-four Allied nations agree a post-war monetary order and create the IMF and the World Bank. Read: The Gold Standard and Its End in 1971

  15. 1950

    The charge card

    Diners Club introduces a card accepted by several restaurants, an early step towards card-based payments.

  16. 15 August 1971

    The end of convertibility

    President Nixon announces that the dollar will no longer be convertible into gold for foreign governments. Read: The Gold Standard and Its End in 1971

Cryptography and digital cash 1976 – 2008

  1. 1976

    New directions

    Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman publish the idea of public-key cryptography in the open literature. Read: The Cypherpunks and the Dream of Private Money

  2. 1977

    RSA

    Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman devise the RSA algorithm for encryption and digital signatures, published the following year.

  3. 1979

    Hash trees

    Ralph Merkle describes the hash trees that later bear his name. Read: Hashcash, b-money and Bit Gold: the Precursors

  4. 1982

    Blind signatures and Byzantine generals

    David Chaum presents blind signatures for untraceable payments; Lamport, Shostak and Pease publish their paper on agreement among faulty computers. Read: Chaum, DigiCash and the First Digital Cash

  5. 1989

    DigiCash

    Chaum founds DigiCash in Amsterdam to build private electronic cash. Read: Chaum, DigiCash and the First Digital Cash

  6. 1991

    PGP and timestamp chains

    Phil Zimmermann releases PGP; Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta publish a method for timestamping documents in a hash chain. Read: Hashcash, b-money and Bit Gold: the Precursors

  7. 1992

    The cypherpunks

    A group of cryptographers and programmers in California begin meeting and start their mailing list. Read: The Cypherpunks and the Dream of Private Money

  8. 9 March 1993

    A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto

    Eric Hughes argues that privacy in the electronic age requires cryptography. Read: The Cypherpunks and the Dream of Private Money

  9. 1995

    eCash at a bank

    Mark Twain Bank in St. Louis begins offering DigiCash’s eCash to customers. Read: Chaum, DigiCash and the First Digital Cash

  10. 1997

    Hashcash

    Adam Back proposes proof-of-work stamps against junk mail. Read: Hashcash, b-money and Bit Gold: the Precursors

  11. 1998

    b-money and bit gold

    Wei Dai publishes b-money and Nick Szabo proposes bit gold; DigiCash files for bankruptcy. Read: Hashcash, b-money and Bit Gold: the Precursors

  12. 2004

    Reusable proofs of work

    Hal Finney releases RPOW, a system for passing proof-of-work tokens from person to person. Read: Hashcash, b-money and Bit Gold: the Precursors

  13. 31 October 2008

    The whitepaper

    “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” is announced on a cryptography mailing list. Read: Reading the Bitcoin Whitepaper, Section by Section

Bitcoin and the institutions 2009 – 2024

  1. 3 January 2009

    The genesis block

    The first block of the chain is created, carrying a newspaper headline of that day. Read: Reading the Bitcoin Whitepaper, Section by Section

  2. 12 January 2009

    The first transaction

    Hal Finney receives the first transaction between two people. Read: Reading the Bitcoin Whitepaper, Section by Section

  3. October 2012

    A central bank takes note

    The European Central Bank publishes its report on virtual currency schemes. Read: From Code to Institutions: How Regulators Responded

  4. March 2013

    Old rules, new businesses

    US FinCEN guidance treats virtual currency exchangers and administrators as money transmitters. Read: From Code to Institutions: How Regulators Responded

  5. 2017

    The e-krona project

    Sweden’s Riksbank begins studying a digital form of central bank money for the public. Read: Central Bank Digital Currencies: an Old Idea in New Form

  6. October 2018

    FATF extends its standards

    The Financial Action Task Force brings virtual asset service providers within its anti-money-laundering recommendations. Read: From Code to Institutions: How Regulators Responded

  7. January 2020

    Europe’s fifth AML directive

    EU member states must apply anti-money-laundering rules to crypto exchange services and custodian wallet providers. Read: From Code to Institutions: How Regulators Responded

  8. 20 October 2020

    The Sand Dollar

    The Bahamas launches the first nationwide retail central bank digital currency. Read: Central Bank Digital Currencies: an Old Idea in New Form

  9. July 2021

    Investigating a digital euro

    The ECB launches a two-year investigation phase for a digital euro. Read: Central Bank Digital Currencies: an Old Idea in New Form

  10. 9 June 2023

    MiCA published

    The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation appears in the Official Journal. Read: From Code to Institutions: How Regulators Responded

  11. 1 November 2023

    Preparing a digital euro

    The ECB begins the preparation phase of its digital euro project. Read: Central Bank Digital Currencies: an Old Idea in New Form

  12. 30 June 2024

    Rules for stable-value tokens

    MiCA’s provisions on asset-referenced and e-money tokens begin to apply. Read: From Code to Institutions: How Regulators Responded

  13. 30 December 2024

    MiCA in full

    The rest of MiCA applies, together with EU rules on information accompanying crypto-asset transfers. Read: From Code to Institutions: How Regulators Responded

This timeline records events in the history of money, institutions and technology. It deliberately leaves out prices and market events.