Encyclopedia of Money

Encyclopedia of Money contains more than 300 entries describing the major innovations, experiments, triumphs, and disasters in the development of a viable medium of exchange. Individual topics spotlight the working of international monetary systems, hyperinflation, monetary debacles, fiscal controls, the gold standard, and more. These pages also tell how metal coinage, one of the greatest financial inventions, spread from a tiny enclave in the Mediterranean to become a universal standard. The book explains what Leonardo da Vinci contributed to hard currency and how paper money came about. Written for nonspecialists, the book avoids technical jargon and mathematics as it explains the mechanisms and intricacies of the subject of money.