As we all know, the initial transaction form was barter. After the development of commodity economy, the equivalent, namely currency, gradually appeared. But what is equivalent is indeed the result of long-term screening. At first, sheep and shells were used as equivalents. However, the disadvantages of this equivalent are obvious. With the discovery and use of metal, people gradually find that this thing has many advantages when used as an equivalent. Convenient storage, good durability, not easy to wear and tear, scarcity.
With the discovery of metal, almost all civilizations in the world began to slowly transition to metal currency. However, it is not a sudden transition to gold and silver, but a process of development. As far as China is concerned, although gold appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, its quantity is extremely scarce and its value is too high, which is not enough to become the equivalent of the whole economic system, but only a scarce resource held by the nobility.
By the Shang Dynasty, it had entered the Bronze Age, and a copper shell with copper as its currency had appeared. Gold appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, but it was used as currency. Only under some special circumstances, the monetary base of the whole society is copper. The "hundred rewards" and "huge sum" recorded in ancient books refer to copper, not gold.
Even to a certain extent, gold circulation is prohibited. Shang and Zhou bronze shells, Qin Banliang, Hanwu coins and later generations copper coins are the main bodies of social money. Therefore, in the past, the description of the rich people all said "rich", just like the current "billionaire", measured by conventional money. Since the Song Dynasty, due to the high development of commodity economy and the sharp increase of transaction frequency, metal currency is inconvenient to carry, and paper money has appeared. It was not until the middle of the Ming Dynasty that Europe plundered a large amount of gold and silver from North America and Africa. Through international trade, the gold and silver plundered by Europe began to flow into China in large quantities, and the use of silver became more and more common.
Therefore, as a common currency, gold and silver have been circulating since15th century. Prior to this, some countries and regions also used iron and aluminum as scarce equivalents. If medieval aluminum tableware was dug up in Europe, don't think it was buried with the poor. At that time, it was a luxury that only the top aristocrats could use.
In contemporary times, although gold is still precious and an important strategic reserve resource, the scope of folk application is not the same, and countless wonderful gold products have appeared, which was unimaginable in the past.