Category Archives: Stone Money

Whether paper or stone or shiny metal, all currencies serve the same purpose. When a society reaches a certain size and complexity, the need arises for “storage”of wealth. We store our wealth in green paper and account numbers, the Yap … Continue reading →

The study of commerce could take up a semester’s-long course in it of itself, where from the philosophy of  money to the functionality of it serves to be examined.  Money cannot just be “created” and used, however; it must be … Continue reading →

After reading these materials, I have this thought that money is the product that a government standardized and people have accepted and agreed to trust this as an exchanging media.  Money itself does not seen to have any value if … Continue reading →

Some form of trade is absolutely necessary in any civilization for survival. Trade is essential because one person physically cannot sustain themselves. Farmers have food, but no clothes. Clothing makers have clothes, but no food. But why is money the … Continue reading →

Money seemed like an object you can hold and possess to me before, but after reading the stories of the Yap Island and the United States and French with the labeling of the gold that has changed. the people of … Continue reading →

Many people would look at the concept of fei as an abstract form of wealth. Fei are large stone coins that were used by the islanders of Yap which showed the wealth of a family, and possessed full buying power. … Continue reading →

While idea the fei, the large stone money used by the islanders of Yap, seems irrational to those accustomed to the portable paper and coined money system of Western civilizations, the two are relatively the same. To the most people, … Continue reading →

The idea of fei by the people of Yap makes you think a lot about the concept of money. The way they based their wealth on trust made me change the way I thought about money. The idea of using … Continue reading →

Money as an abstract concept is not an overly foreign idea to me. Taken out of any societal context, exchanging fairly worthless metals or paper for immediate and real goods and services doesn’t make much sense. However, it’s also quite … Continue reading →

At first, the story of the people of Yap sounded completely foreign and abstract to me. I thought they were some fictional people with very ambitious methods of presenting wealth because of the massiveness of their currency. I couldn’t grasp how … Continue reading →