Easy Money: American Puritans and the Invention of Modern Currency

New. <p><b>A sweeping history of the American invention of modern money.</b></p><p> Economists endlessly debate the nature of legal tender monetary systems—coins and bills issued by a government or other authority. Yet the origins of these currencies have received little attention. </p><p> Dror Goldberg tells the story of modern money in North America through the Massachusetts colony during the seventeenth century. As the young settlement transitioned to self-governance and its economy grew, the need to formalize a smooth exchange emerged. Printing local money followed. </p><p><i>Easy Money</i> illustrates how colonists invented contemporary currency by shifting its foundation from intrinsically valuable goods—such as silver—to the taxation of the state. Goldberg traces how this structure grew into a worldwide system in which, monetarily, we are all Massachusetts. Weaving economics, law, and American history, <i>Easy Money </i>is a new touchstone in the story of monetary systems. </p>