Customer Reviews

Money: A History

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Written by the coins and medals experts of the British Museum, this handsomely designed work succinctly but comprehensively explores the entire history of money, from its earliest beginnings to the electronic transactions of the 1990's.
The book features over 550 beautiful color and black-and-white illustrations, with essays covering ancient and modern coinage in global perspective, and relating the moral, political, religious, and social meanings inevitably associated with so powerful a force. Highly recommended as an excellent introduction to a complex subject, or just for enjoyable and informative browsing.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

The authors, curators at the British Museum, present a broad review of the history of money that explores the creation, use, and evolution of money from the beginnings of recorded history to the present. While doing so, the authors provide interesting and thoughtful observations about the economic, political, social, religious, and moral aspects of money and its uses around the world throughout history. The book is abundantly illustrated with numerous images of coins and paper money, maps, and artwork that supplement the text very well.

This book is an excellent reference work that is well written and easy to follow. It can be used as a starting point for further research, with an annotated Further Reading section and a guide to money museums around the world. Apart from its utility as a reference work and research resource, the book can be read on its own by any reader interested in taking a look at the history of money. This would be a useful reference book in any community, high school, or college library.

The book was reissued in 2007, on the tenth aniversary of its original publication.