Creative Currencies Anti-Crypto – OZY

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Picture this: You are at the cashier and try to pay for the snacks you bought for your first (socially distant) gathering in ages, and your card gets rejected. Panic ensues, but then you stick your hand in your pocket, and it sounds reassuringly not with coins, but seashells! The bill is settled, and the day saved. In some villages in Papua New Guinea, this scenario could indeed occur.

Currencies have changed dramatically over time. And all over the world, the most creative were used long before banknotes and coins took center stage. But what’s next? Today, as Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies seem poised to take over the world, we take a look at the alternative currencies that have led the way, and some that could diversify the future of trading.

the future of money is already here

Shell Stored

As COVID-19 plunged the world into chaos last year, one society has found its new normal in old practices. For the Tolai people of Papua New Guinea, adaptation meant the resurgence of a native seashell currency called tabu, or seashell currency. With little access to cash, villagers in the Eastern Province of New Britain turned to their existing collections of nassa mud snail shells. While the tabu can be used directly for the daily barter of essential items or exchanged for the official Papua New Guinea kina, its role in recent times has revolved around ceremonial exchanges at weddings, birthdays and funerals. But as circulation increased during the lockdown, string money measured by arm’s lengths (1 1/2 length can earn a bundle of rice) meant a return to nature and basic survival for many.

Coke, not coins

Coca, the leafy plant that is the basic ingredient of cocaine, grows abundantly in Amazonian Colombia, its abundance in contrast to the region’s shortages. As drug traffickers, rebel groups and the government take turns locking horns or negotiating peace deals, farmers in the hard-to-reach region of Guayabero often rely on coca paste … as currency. It can be redeemed by the gram at local stores for everything from vegetables to cleaning supplies.

Piggy bank

Gold? Life savings? Family heritage? If you belong to the Turaga community on Pentecostal Island of Vanuatus, your bank deposit might come in the form of a bunch of curly pig tusks. Called tuvatu, the currency is a central part of the efforts of indigenous communities to establish a sovereign identity within the Pacific island nation. Special banks accept pork tusks, considered sacred in the region and used as ceremonial currency since ancient times. The idea is to protect the centuries-old customs of one of the 83 islands of Vanuatus from the strangulation of modern capitalism.

Extra Cheese

When at the Credito Emiliano bank in Italy, don’t forget to say cheese! Known locally as Credem, this bank will give you a loan against a guarantee of giant wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Conceived as an offer to help dairy farmers in the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, the curious currency of banks has been the subject of a study by the Harvard Business School. Credem treats carefully aged cheese like the precious commodity it is, storing it in the best conditions in a local warehouse. The idea is to secure your money, from the cow to the bank. The excessive focus on cheese seems less crazy when you discover that in 2009 an 80-pound wheel was priced at $ 350, and a solid stash can run into the thousands of dollars.

Bitten by Bitcoin

Bitcoins are no longer a novelty. But on September 7, El Salvador is set to become the first country to accept cryptocurrency as legal tender, alongside the U.S. dollar. Experts warn that this bold move comes with multiple risks. Economist William Luther, associate professor at Florida Atlantic University and an authority on alternative currencies, is concerned about the Salvadoran government’s intention to force acceptance. If you own a cafe and someone offers bitcoin payment, you need to agree, he tells OZY. Even small homeowners will need smartphone and tech knowledge that they may not want to acquire. The government’s decision to act as a guarantor of the bitcoin trade also puts the small developing country at risk, warns Luther. He could lose money quickly if the price of bitcoin drops between the execution of a transaction and the government converting bitcoins to dollars. The International Monetary Fund has also warned countries against accepting Bitcoin as legal tender.

riches of yesteryear

From salt to salary

In kitchens around the world, salt might be the most crucial ingredient. And for the soldiers of ancient Rome, it was part of their salary. At a time when entire economies revolved around the salt trade, the allocation of Roman soldiers in the precious commodity was called salarium argentum (sal = salt in Latin). From there emerged the French word salary and soon the favorite English word of all adult winners, salary. Converting work to salt was serious business, and your pay could be tied up to be seen as literally not worth your salt. The sparkling crystal was traded ounce for ounce for gold among Moorish merchants in sub-Saharan Africa as early as the sixth century. And the salt blocks, called amole tchew, were used as currency in medieval Ethiopia, often referred to as white gold by merchants.

Beavers, Bucks and more

Receiving an animal skin as payment might sound like something out of a gangster movie, but it was perfectly acceptable for much of the story. A beaver pelt in mid-18th century North America could buy you two precious pounds of sugar. A beaver pelt, valued at around $ 2 in 1837, would equal $ 50 today. Squirrel skins were a popular point of exchange in medieval Russia and Finland. A linguistic link to the lost currency is the Finnish word for money, raha, which originally translated as squirrel fur. Another example could be English slang for dollar buck which is a nod to the ubiquity of buck skin (deer) in early trade.

Edible exchanges

If you took inspiration from the Mayans and the Aztecs and tried to pay me in chocolate, you would probably succeed. Even cocoa beans, with their intense aroma, could close the deal. In some Mesoamerican civilizations, cocoa beans were a sought-after commercial product, with some believing that they were endowed with mystical powers. Spanish colonial accounts indicate that some Europeans used beans to pay workers until the 16th century. And chocolate, far from your Toblerone bar in its original embodiment as a bitter drink, has always been held in high commercial esteem. One of his earliest representations in art is a mid-7th century mural on display in a pyramid that may have been a market near present-day Guatemala. In it, a woman offers what appears to be a bowl of hot chocolate in exchange for a dough that I personally never entered into.

enter, evolution

Changing economies

But it is not only individuals seeking to survive who have turned to the barter system, both in the past and now. Following the wave of economic sanctions imposed by former US President Donald Trump against Iran and Russia, these countries and others interested in doing business with them decided to revert to the primitive practice to avoid working with them. banks vulnerable to US retaliation. Whether it’s Iranian oil for Indian rice, Indonesian palm oil for Russian fighter jets, or the export of medical supplies last year to Iran as part of a mechanism European special called INSTEX, barter is the buzzword.

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Global, Local. . . Digital Paste

Bypassing the dollar works for those trying to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive. It can work in the form of virtual currencies like the Chinese digital yuan, which is not a cryptocurrency just an electronic version of the country’s paper banknotes. And it can work for hyperlocal interests too. Take Ithaca HOURS, a time-based currency system adopted by the college town in upstate New York. Created during the 1991 recession, the system was designed to provide an additional incentive for local businesses and workers, thereby boosting Ithaca’s economy. HOUR is indexed to $ 10 to represent one hour of work.

Cryptocommunism What?

Traditionally, cryptocurrencies have been considered the domain of libertarians. But a growing number of left wing enthusiasts are turning this notion upside down. These cryptosocialists see digital money as a valuable ally in everything from the equitable distribution of housing to defeating autocrats. Venezuela’s socialist government has attempted to experiment with its own cryptocurrency to circumvent US sanctions. Yet this trend may not be a question of ideology at all, suggests Luther, an economist at Florida Atlantic University. It’s just the people who do what works for them, he says, adding that for many, Bitcoin works, regardless of ideological differences.

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beauty and bills

Cute as a krna

Hard money can be a work of art. In the international competition for beautiful bulls, the Icelandic krna is hard to beat. On one side, the coin depicts the four guardian spirits of Iceland: a bird, a bull, a mountain giant and a dragon. Flip it over and you will discover that the marine life contains a dolphin or shore crab, while others contain cod or lumpfish. The banknotes, on the other hand, are decorated with historic Icelandic figures, artists and artwork, engraved with intricate designs.

A touch of Costa Rica

Lay out a pile of the country’s currency, coln, side by side, and you’ll be greeted with a shiny paper quilt. In stunning shades of green, yellow and blue, the six different banknotes are an ode to the Costa Rican icons that have shaped the country’s history. Painted sharks, sloths and hummingbirds inhabit the reverse of the bills, showing the coasts and rainforests of Central American countries.

Safari paper

Fancy going on a safari in South Africa? Just shuffle a few rand in your hands. With its distinctive color, design, and homage to the country’s legendary wildlife, the South African coin has to be one of the wildest on the market. And don’t worry: you don’t need to protect yourself with a brush with the big five displayed on invoices. Instead, take your time to observe buffaloes, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and lions.

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