Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     

1. Money’s Precursors
Barter Systems     
Commodity Money     
Wampum     
Metallic Money     
Paper Money     

2. Coins as Money
Early Coins     
Coins in Colonial America     
United States Coinage     
The First Mint Established     
Gold Coinage     
Silver Coinage     
Present Coinage     
Commemorative Coins     
“In God We Trust”     
How Coins Are Made and Stored     

3. Currency
Its Origins     
Continental Currency     
Pre- Federal Reserve System Currencies     
Federal Reserve Bank Notes     
The Saga of the $2 Bill     
Design Characteristics and Symbolism     
Printing and Circulation     

4. Checkbook Money
What Is a Check?     
The Development of Checks     
Check Processing     
Advantages and Disadvantages of Check Writing     
The Cost of Writing Checks     
Electronic Money     

5. Credit Cards
Their Origins     
Bank Cards     
Use and Attitude Toward Credit Cards     

6. Credit
Early Use     
Allocation of Credit     
Credit Regulations     
Advantages of Credit     
How to Obtain Credit     

7. Creation and Control of Money
Money Creation and Supply     
Control of Money     
The Use of Gold and Silver     
Momentum Toward a Central Bank     
The Creation of the Federal Reserve System     

8. The Federal Reserve System
Implementing the System     
The Federal Reserve Board     
How the Fed Controls Money     
Financing Deficit Spending     
Its Modern Influence     
The Decision-Making Process     

9. Money and the
Legal Tender Laws     
Counterfeiting     
Found Money     

10. You and Your Money
Record-Keeping     
Budgeting Your Money     
Planning for the Future     
Planning an Investment Portfolio     

11. Conclusion
What Is Money?     
Some Definitions of Money     
Selected Expressions and Slang     
Comments About Money     

Appendices Significant Dates in the History of U.S. Coinage     
Significant Dates in the History of U.S. Currency     
Interesting Items Used as Money     
Money in Circulation     
World Population and Currencies     
The Federal Reserve System     
1986 Domestic Coinage     
Loans and Securities for All Commercial Banks     
Consumer Installment Credit     
Money Stock, Liquid Assets, Debt Measures     
Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Specifications     

Bibliography     
Index