The Story of Money

Before money, there was debt. Clay tablets from Mesopotamia record who owed what to whom, long before the first coin was struck.

The first coins

Around 600 BC, the kingdom of Lydia (in today's Turkey) minted the first coins from electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver. Stamped with a lion's head, they guaranteed weight and value.

Paper promises

China's Song dynasty issued the first paper money in the 11th century. Europe followed centuries later, and eventually the promise of gold behind paper disappeared altogether.

In the full documentary, we trace money from barter myths to digital balances, and ask what money really is.