February 6, 2019

When did people start using money?

Around the year 1200 B.C., people in China started using mollusk shells called cowries to trade for goods. Cowries became the world’s first form of currency, […]
February 6, 2019

When did people start using coins?

The first chunks of change you’d recognize as coins – round lumps of precious metals impressed with mages of gods and rulers – appeared around 700 […]
February 6, 2019

What about cash?

Paper currency – also known as notes or bills – didn’t appear until the ninth century in China, but it eventually became so common that it […]
February 8, 2019

Why did pirates fly the skull & crossbones?

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies portray buccaneer crews as likable bands of high-seas misfits, but real-life “freebooters” were ruthless thieves who relied on their cutthroat […]