The history of money is really more of a study of anthropology because it is so embedded with human behavior for thousands of years. The macro level of money study looks at broad movements of human changes, usually with money or territory being the underlying discontent that causes the upheaval. What fascinates me most is the individual and money. The micro side of anthropology.
There are many great studies that challenge commonly held money beliefs. These range from Debt, The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber to Fernand Braudel's series on Civilization and Capitalism in the 15th to 18th Centuries. What I always love in books like these are the primary source material gleaned from documents written long ago by individuals. Letters found to support the broad movements by humanity, sourced to an individual. Perhaps it's a letter written by a Roman vintner from his estate in Tuscany to a Roman general in Bath, England in 130 AD detailing the cost and payment arrangements for a recent order. Or maybe it was a horde of coins found outside of Athens during an archeological dig stamped with the inscription "I am the sign of Phanes" along with a stag as an emblem, showing individuals as well as cities could mint their own coins in ancient times. Even an illuminated manuscript from the 12th century showing a market fair in a town with cloth, food, animals, gloves, and other goods for people to buy and exhange from each other.
One of my most favorite primary source documents is the Memoirs of Glückel of Hameln. She was an amazing German Jewish businesswoman who lived in the late 17th to early 18th century (1646-1724). Glückel ran, very successfully, a business on her own. When her first husband died unexpectedly, she was 44 and continue to run his jewelry business until one of her sons was ready to take the business over. She passed control over to him and I think remarried, thinking she would retreat into the background. Unfortunately, the business sufferred under her son's stewardship and was on the brink of failure, she took it back and brought it back to life. This happened on two more occassions during her lifetime -- where she was placed in a position of financial devastation and was able to work her way back to financial stability. Her diary is an extraordinary account of how she was able to persevere during a tumultuous financial and emotional time on a macro and micro level.
Glückel had a money system and in fact one of the first things she did when her first husband died was a complete accounting of all his debts (some of which were unknown to her). Because she did a complete reckoning of where her family stood financially upon his death, she was able to assess very quickly what she needed to do immediately to assure her family's financial stability, actions which included selling off assets. This during a time of great grief and mourning. Glückel was 44 years old and had 14 children when her husband died. In fact her diary goes into detail on how she set up her money system and seeing everything clearly and in one place, she could make quick and grounded decisions on how to move forward financially.
This is what I want for you. A money system that shows you everything in one place so there are no guesses, no burying of the head in the sand, no vacations to "Oneday Isle." A money system puts you in control of your money life no matter how much you owe. Only by seeing everything can you negotiate from a place of power. This is what Glückel was able to do. And don't worry that your money system is only going to show you what you think is negative, there is A LOT of good in it too.
This is why I call one my programs First Coins. It's your customized money system and your first coins. You take control over your money just like Glückel and Phanes did so long ago. If you don't have a money system, try out one of the free systems like Mint.com or GoDaddy Bookkeeping. See how easy they are, and then start thinking about what it would be like to see everything in one place and being able to make choices with your money everyday that align with what you want in this lifetime.