History 2-minute read

How a promise became something to spend

Paper money: Jiaozi, Early paper money, China, Northern Song Dynasty

Trace the history of currency on paper and the institutions that made it useful.

Source: Wikipedia

Visit Wikipedia
Another detour
Image credit

Unknown author / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

Resized to a maximum of 640 pixels and converted to WebP; transparent backgrounds composited on white where needed; composition preserved. Resized and converted to WebP for display. Display frames may crop the image; the full image remains available in Image credit.