Money

Money is an economic institution that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account and a store of value, allowing goods and services to be traded without the constraints of direct barter. Historical forms of money have included commodity money such as precious metals, shells and livestock, later giving way to coinage, paper currency issued by state authorities, and modern electronic and digital forms of money. As a social institution, money underpins virtually all market economies and requires a shared social trust in its value, typically backed by government authority, custom, or, in earlier periods, the intrinsic worth of the material from which it was made.