The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Jaco Zuijderduijn . Photo

Jaco Zuijderduijn

Senior lecturer

Jaco Zuijderduijn . Photo

Coins, currencies, and credit instruments : Media of exchange in economic and social history

Author

  • Jan Lucassen
  • Jaco Zuijderduijn

Summary, in English

How, in historical societies, did people finalise transactions? Over the past few decades many economic and social historians have concerned themselves with this question, following the examples set by Douglass North and Craig Muldrew. Surprisingly, they have almost completely disregarded the most straightforward solution that historical societies had to offer, namely by using coins and currencies. Those scholars assumed, in part, that credit instruments were much more important in day-to-day trade. In this introduction we argue that studies into the unequal socioeconomic distribution of media of exchange - coins, currencies, and credit instruments - reveal mechanisms that are crucial to understanding broader social and economic processes. To this end, we discuss how the five articles in this special issue contribute to the growing literature on this topic.

Department/s

  • Department of Economic History

Publishing year

2014

Language

English

Pages

1-13

Publication/Series

The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History / Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis

Volume

11

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

International Institute of Social History

Topic

  • Business Administration

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1572-1701