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Show Beads Made "Coin of the Realm" by Massachusetts Order in Year 1637 complained Hint Ihcy were having (lillifiill l.'H making ciiIlci'llonH for gi.ods Hold mill tli-llvcrcc Iktiiiiko of (hi; variable currency. 'I'lio English I lien yielded mid Kent over n quaii-llly quaii-llly of Kllver mid bronze, mid put (he colonics on a Round inelnlUe bn-si. bn-si. So It slood when tae I'.oslonl-lins I'.oslonl-lins gave llielr fiinious ten party. Wars lire financed In three ways: by taxing, borrowing ir Inllatlng. Taxation was not available lo the American revolutionists because the prc ipilnting cause of the w.'ir was the objection of the colonists to taxation. tax-ation. I'.orrowing was Impossible, except to a slight extent with France, because the new country had not established es-tablished Its credit. The only feasible feas-ible means of financing the war, therefore, was by Inflation, by Issuing Issu-ing Irredeemable paper currency. And that Is precisely what was done. The earliest American money was wampum, ihat being a string of shells an Indian wore around Ills neck when he dressed tip. The red uliln's neclvtle was not merely some thing which the New lOngland colonist colo-nist used to trick a native out of Some choice skins. The beads were actually recognized In (he Colonies ns the coin of the realm. A Massachusetts Massa-chusetts order In council of KI.'l" made wampum full legal lender up to a shilling, at the rate of six black beads or three while heads to n penny. And a Connecticut Keillor was authorized by law to pay taxes In wampum tip to ten pounds sterling. ster-ling. In an Identical way, tobacco was established as the money of Virginia, Vir-ginia, rice of South Carolina, wool of Ithode Island and rum In many places. The value of each of (his miscellany of trinkets and vegetables was nlways reckoned In terms of pennies, shillings and pounds of the English monetary system. The colonists colo-nists brought along small amounts of metallic money when they came across. And as this accumulated, It circulated freely among the people. Trnflic with the Spanish colonies brought In some of their coins, hut trade as a whole was hatidicapped because of the lack of an adequate currency. The demand for money was so persist ent that a mint was set up in New England, but opposition opposi-tion by the homo government soon put n stop to that. Due to the lack of metallic money, the Colonial governments fell into the practice of printing paper money. As there wasn't any other circulating circulat-ing medium, the paper passed for a time as if It were the real article. However, since the Issuing governments govern-ments could maintain no adequate reserves for redeeming the notes as they fell due, and as the colonies found the device so easy that there was a constant temptation to put out more, the notes fell in value. When depreciation went so far as to appall the authorities, a new set of bills would be put out, with the officials swearing that this time it would be different and the Issue would be confined to what could be redeemed. But the promises, even when backed by good intentions, were never kept. At length, the English merchants |