Delighted with the progress of their discussed plan, the five friends look forward to the fun and adventure to come. Driven forward by the idea of getting smart with their money and finding creative ways to achieve their financial goals, they begin their field investigations.

By chance, while chatting with people in the village, Ana discovers that there used to be a unique, fun and educational way to explore the world of money here. Perhaps it all started with the ancient story of the tree with leaves shaped like money.

An oral account shows how fascinated the villagers of this valley were with the idea of collecting coins and learning about their value, history and significance.

At the meeting point on that Friday afternoon, the young people are ready to share with each other the information they have learned during the week that has just ended.

Ana: Baba Dochia told me that in the past a group of people in the village had thought of setting up a ˝knowledge oasis˝ to attract numismatic enthusiasts. The idea was that people decided to bring their collections to the oasis to learn the different denominations, practice counting and identify rare coins from the region.

George: Wow! I heard a rumour at one point. I think I was about 10 years old when my dad challenged my grandfather to tell him about the history of the coins here, how they were first introduced to the community and how they evolved over time.

Ada: Sounds like an educational topic.

Daniel: It really is! Look, I learned that my grandfather's father and his friends at the time volunteered in activities such as sorting, cleaning, or reconstructing and cataloguing coin collections brought to the oasis by villagers from the valley and over the hill. In this way, they learned quite quickly the art of sorting coins, assessing their condition and identifying their value.

Rareș: From what you say, I get the idea that the story emphasizes the power of personal curiosity, the value of teamwork and especially the openness to cooperation in the oasis of knowledge, but also in relation to the people around.

Ada: What happened to this oasis? Where could the collection of coins, chronicles and writings of the time be, and how could we use them to learn more?

George: Probably nobody knows, but we can explore further. I can imagine that this ancient money could help us understand what the impact of current economic factors might have on the value of money over time.

Daniel: I'm thinking about one thing. We're very familiar with the paper money we use in our daily lives today, but money didn't always exist in this form. The history professor told us that throughout the evolution of mankind there have been different forms of money that have played the role of facilitating economic transactions.

Ana: I like the subject! How do we find out more information? My cousin, who is a history student, recently told me that she came across an older article in the university library that recounted the past appearance of a local community currency, right in our commune.

George: This could be unique in our country! I was at an NGO event where I learned about some communities in Europe, the US and even Africa that have introduced locally issued currency to keep money circulating in their village or town. Residents can exchange national currency for community currency, often at a discount. Of course, the tax system is also easily modified, because the circulation of such local currency ensures the prosperity of small entrepreneurs and protects locals from the volatility of the national economy.

Daniel: If there has been such a practice here, we have an important economic legacy, and we and all young people in the village and the region should be inspired by these good examples of how to use money.

Ana: I learned something too. Look, now I'm reading online that local currencies are an increasingly popular way to resist the wave of globalised consumption, promote the local economy and make money circulate only in the community.

Rareș: Now I realise why farmers and small entrepreneurs in our area are so heavily promoting the ˝Buy Local˝ initiative. Our grandfather is a strong supporter of this movement. I'm glad I now know some of the benefits his work brings to the community. I'm so proud of him!

George: Congratulations! Just as valuable as the involvement of our villagers, I find it equally valuable that by limiting the use of community currencies to local, independent farms and businesses, officials are seeking to ensure that more of the value of a particular purchase stays within our community.

Ada: Yes, it seems that money is important because it allows us to get the things we need and want.

George: In addition, money is a crucial element for individuals in an economy because it gives people utilitarian value. In other words, money is an agreed-upon form of payment that is used to satisfy human need or want through the buying and selling of goods and services.

Daniel: In addition, money is used for borrowing and repaying loans.

Rareș: Still listening to you, I remember from the lesson ˝Money in the sense of children˝ that money was not from the beginning the way it looks now. I remember being very surprised to learn that the first currencies were not money, but animal skins, grain and even stones. Nowadays, I don't think money is just currency anymore. What are the other functions of money?

Ada: Look, it says online that for money to be considered a medium of exchange, it must be widely accepted in the economy for the purchase of goods and services.

George: It's important to remember that money retains its value compared to other commodities. For example, if I earned a hundred lei today for being involved in a greening project, I will be able to use that money in the following days or weeks, whereas if I earned a cake and some fruit from being involved in the project, they have a limited shelf life, until which I have to consume those products, because they are perishable and I can't resell them anyway.

Daniel: I understand what you mean. Money doesn't store value because inflation has an impact on purchasing power. However, money is an efficient store of value and sufficient for its intended use.

Ada: Whoa whoa... you lost me! For the last 5 minutes I haven't understood anything you two have been talking about here. Enlighten me, please!

George: We were talking about the functions of money. Let me give you a more practical example. My view is that money serves as a common measuring instrument for economic transactions. Imagine you go to a store to buy a pair of shoes that are priced at 40 kernels of corn, while at another store, the same shoes are priced at 25 bananas. Does the fact that the shoes are listed in two different forms of payment make it difficult or simple to determine the true value of the shoes?

Rare: Hmmm... I'm inclined to think that in the example you gave, determining the real value of the shoes is a difficult task.

Ada: Ok. I'm still not clear but I'll keep reading and hopefully I'll catch some more ideas from our dialogue. What is very clear to me so far is that money has different characteristics associated with it that have made it widely accepted.

Daniel: Right! In addition, money is made to be durable because it is needed for constant use. At the same time, it's easy to transfer from one place to another, being broken down into smaller divisions so that transactions of any value can be made.

Ana: What else is there to say about money? I think that money of the same value should look the same in the economy, and its form should be acceptable to all parties in the economy.

George: I'll add an important piece of information. Money is available in limited quantities so that it maintains its value. Otherwise, an oversupply of money often leads to a loss of purchasing power.

Daniel: The subject of money is a hot one, my dear friends! I say let's read more. I suggest that by the next time we meet here, we each come up with some information on the history of money.

DIARY PAGE | The Worldwide Money History

If you enjoyed our characters' dialogue, I challenge you now to gather as much information as you can about money: curiosities and characteristics, the history of the exchange of goods, the evolution from coins to banknotes, how the European currency came into being, which coins the EU Member States have had in circulation, which are the strangest coins and banknotes that have existed in world history, how to tell a real banknote from a fake one, etc.

In addition, after reading more, if you are interested, I challenge you to write down what the benefits of increasing local spending by introducing a community currency might be.

Did you know that...

The evolution of money consists of a series of changes in the accepted form of currency throughout history.

Money has three functions: medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account.

The characteristics of money are durability, portability, divisibility, uniformity, acceptability and limited supply.

The evolution of money has increased economic efficiency by reducing transaction costs.

There are several community currencies in the world: the local currency Wirtschaftsring (WIR) in Switzerland - is the oldest community currency in the world, dating from 1934, which currently works for trade between SMEs; the local currency CHW in Switzerland, which has been introduced since 1999; the local currency Banco Palmas in Brazil, which dates from 1998; Túmin local currency in Mexico, which dates from 2010 and is used in 32 regions nationwide; Bristol Lira local currency in the UK, which dates from 2012, and Bristol Pay local electronic payment, which dates from 2022, details of which have not yet been announced; Bangla-Pesa and Sarafu in Kenya, which dates from 2013.