Monetary History of Canada Early 1600s: Beaver pelts are the one universally accepted medium of exchange, though wheat and moose skins are also legal tender Mid 1600s: Wampum, or strings and belts made from shell beads, becomes legal tender in colonial New England. Eight white beads or four purple beads buy one penny. June 8, 1685: The […]

The Paper Chase Part II ©Copyright June 1988 The Panic of 1869, which caused gold to rally significantly, was in itself a sign to the government that paper money would not win the affections and confidence of the people just yet – this would take time. The question of what was actually money remained an […]

  ©Copyright June 1988 The story of paper money goes back a long way. One could argue that its first emergence was even before 2500BC in Bablyon. For the sake of convienence, banking transactions took place in the form of a clay tablet which served as a “letter or credit.” While such forms of money […]

Part IV of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  1700-Date As with most wars, noble motives are usually portrayed in some slogan that attempts to hide the true underlying financial incentives. The English Crown’s attempt to control and prevent irresponsible paper money issues among the Colonies, […]

Part III of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  1690 – 1774 AD The eighteenth century was a period of strong economic and political growth for Britain. Constitutional parliamentary government, which had replaced the monarchy, appeared to foster great national expansion. The currency of Britain remained […]

Part II of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  500 AD-1700 AD The fate of the Roman Empire of the West had been cast with the sack of Rome in 410 AD by the Goths followed by the Vandals in 455 AD. What was once Rome […]

The Monetary History of the Imperial Rome Chapter IV By Martin A. Armstrong Following the abdication of Diocletian in 304 AD, the political stablility began to gradually disintegrate taking with it the silver coinage. The argentius began to decline in size, weight and silver content. However, we also see the introduction of a half-argentius between 306-307 AD again illustrating […]

The Monetary History of the Imperial Rome Chapter I By Martin A. Armstrong Following the death of Julius Caesar and the conclusion of the final civil war of the period, the emergence of a major monetary reform under Augustus changed forever the monetary system of Rome. It is with Augustus that we find a complete […]

Claudius Gothicus II Emperor 268-270 AD   Born 214 Died 270 AD Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius Gothicus II was most likely from Upper Moesia. Claudius appears to have been an accomplished soldier originally serving as a tribune under Trajanus Decius and Valerian I. Under Valerian, Claudius rose to the highest rank of supreme commander of […]

Severus Alexander 222-235 AD Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander was originally named Alexianus. He was born about 208 AD. Alexander was the son of Julia Mamaea and Gessius Marcianus. At the insistence of his grandmother, Julia Maesa, Alexander  was adopted by his cousin and was adopted by his cousin Elagabalus in 221 AD, making him the […]