Originally money was simply a receipt;
if u brought two chickens to the temple
to sacrifice on the alter, the priest gave
u a slip of papyrus that said 'two
chickens' & u'd go to the baker & get a loaf
of bread & hand the baker the slip
worth two chickens, which is a lot
for a loaf of bread; so the next time
u bring a cow to the temple &
get a piece of paper that said a cow;
well, says the baker, moving up in the world
are ya? So u write 'my house'
on a piece of paper & trade it for a horse
& u just sold ur house for a horse;
so as long as u've got paper & ink
& collateral u have money;
now obviously where there's money
there's crime so someone with only
pen & ink can make receipts for things
they don't possess & pass them off as
wealth; think subprime morgages